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to  the  generosity  of: 


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Dana  Porter  Arts  Library 
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fiimage. 

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plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
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premlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboies  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  y  signifie  "FIN". 


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required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
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Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
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d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  m^thode. 


1  2  3 


32X 


1 

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6 

L 


WOMAN 


MAN'S    EQUAL 


BY 


Rev.  THOS.  WEBSTER,  D.  D. 


WITH 


AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  BISHOP  SIMPSON. 


CINCINNATI: 
HITCHCOCK   AND    WALDEN, 

NEW   YORK  : 
NELSON   AND   PHILLIPS. 


— Property  of  tho  Library 


University  of  Waterloo 


1  I 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Conpress,  in  tlic  year  1873, 


1 


BY  HITCHCOCK  &  WALUEN, 


III  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO    READERS. 


HE  publishers  of  "Woman  Man's  Equal" 
conscientiously  feel  that  they  are  placing 
before  the  public  the  discussion  of  one 
of  the  most  important  topics  of  the  day ;  and  they 
indulge  the-  strong  conviction  that  the  author  of 
this  little  volume  presents  this  important  topic  in 
a  manner  at  once  attractive  and  convincing.  The 
teachings  of  nature,  history,  and  the  Word  of  God 
are  freely  drafted,  and  skillfully  arranged  to  show 
what  nature  designed,  what  God  has  taught,  and 
what  woman  has  proved  herself  capable  of  being 
and  doing  in  the  world.  The  abuses  to  which  the 
sex  has  been  subject  from  the  physically  stronger 
"lords  of  creation,"  in  heathen  nations  and  in 
brute  ages,  are  ably  and  fully  set  forth. 

The  lessons  of  the  past  are  the  teachings  of  the 
future.  Christianity  has  enlarged  woman's  area, 
and    multiplied    her    duties    and   responsibilities. 


l\ 


\  , 


li 


4  TO  READERS. 

America  is  ahead  of  all  other  nations  in  oppor- 
tunities offered  to  woman.  Public  sentiment  is 
in  favor  of  enlarging  her  sphere,  and  woman  is 
venturing  into  hitherto  untried  avenues  of  employ- 
ment and  usefulness.  This  is  an  age  of  exper- 
iment. An  ounce  of  experiment  is  worth  a  pound 
of  theory.  Woman's  capacity  will  first  be  tested ; 
and,  if  found  equal  to  the  opportunity,  no  door 
will  be  closed  against  her.  She  may  preach, 
orate,  lecture,  teach,  practice  medicine  or  law  or 
politics;  may  vote,  marshal  armies,  navigate  ships, 
and  go  sailoring  or  soldiering  to  her  heart's  con- 
tent, and  at  her  own  good-will  and  pleasure,  if  she 
only  proves  to  the  age  that  she  has  ability  to  do 
and  dare  in  all  these  directions.  This  is  an  age 
of  discovery,  as  well  as  of  experiment ;  and  man 
is  daily  waking  up,  applying,  and  marshaling  new 
forces  for  the  benefit  of  the  race.  Steam,  light, 
electricity,  magnetism,  mechanics,  have  all  con- 
tributed of  their  boundless  capacities  to  human 
welfare.  Man  is  gradually  coming  to  be  aware 
that,  in  the  latept  powers  of  woman,  only  just  now 
on  the  eve  of  development,  half  the  capacities  of 
the  human  race,  like  the  powers  of  steam  and 
lightning,  have  slumbered,  until  now,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation.  A  new  era  is  dawning 
upon  the  world.  This  little  volume  is  one  of  the 
rays  that  herald  the  coming  sun. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

NATURAL    RIGHTS. 


Equals  in  the  Beginning — Apparent  Mental  Infeiiorily 
result  to  be  expected  when  Means  of  Mental  Culture  are 
denied — Natural  Rights — Flattery  not  an  Equivalent  for 
Justice — Dawning, Page  9 


:M 


CHAPTER    II. 

WOMAN   IN   ANTIQUITY. 

Women  of  Antiquity — Their  Condition  in  Heathen  and 

25 


Mohammedan  Countries— Marriage,  Divorce,  etc., 


CHAPTER    III. 

LATER   ESTIMATE   OF   WOMAN. 

Estimation  in  which  Women  were  held  later — Cause  and 
Effect  —  Mental    Attainments    despite    of    Oppression    and 


>i 


i  (I 


Ml! 


6  CONTENTS. 

Prohibition — Equal  Men  in  Government,  etc — Frivolity, 
Literature,  and  Home  Duties — Miiscle  not  Mind — Marriage 
Ceremonies, Pagk  51 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  SEXES   EQUAL  AT   CREATION. 

Created  Equal — Genesis  iii,  16,  considered — Monogamy — 
Lapse  into  Heathenism — Polygamy — 'I'he  Patriarchs — The 
Law  of  Maid-servants  and  Bondwomen — Divorce;  Christ 
rec  agnized  the  Equality  of  Right  therein — Eminent  Women 
of  Israel — Virtue  and  Vice  of  no  Sex,  ...        60 

CHAPTER  V. 

NEW   TESTAMENT   TEACHINGS. 

The  New  Testament  Scriptures — How  they  Define  the 
Position  of  Women 99 

CHAPTER  VI. 

WOMAN    BEFORE    THE   LAW. 

Equally  amenable  to  Laws,  Human  and  Divine — To  rear 
and  govern  a  Family  rightly,  requires  Sound  Judgment — Rel- 
ative Mental  Capacity  of  the  Sexes  not  yet  fairly  tested — 
Comparisons — Christianity  has  done  much,  yet  much  re- 
mains to  be  done — Right  in  Each  Other's  Property — Men 
juster  than  the  Laws — Query — Justice  should  be  even- 
handed — A  United  Head — Women  trained  to  perpetuate  the 
Wrongs  of  their  Sex, 123 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WOMAN   AND  LEGISLATION. 

Taxation  without  Representation  —  One-sided  Legisla- 
tion— Similar  Objections  urged  against  the  Extensions  of 
Franchise — Domestic  Discord — Present  Causes — Citizenship 
not  Inconsistent  with  Home  Duties — The  Slate  has  been 
benefited  at  the  Risk  of  her  Life  through  all  Ages — Asser- 
tions confuted — Modern  Churches  have  departed  from  Prim- 
itive Usages — The  Friends — Women  as  Philanthropists, 
Public  Speakers,  Artists,  Physicians — Educated  Women 
during  the  Late  War— The  Universities,        .        Pagk  156 

\ 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

FAMOUS   WOMEN   OF   ANTIQUITY. 

Dido,  Queen  of  Carthage — Cleopatra — Lucretia — Zeno- 
bia — llypatia — Other  Famous  Names,        .        .        .      188 


CHAPTER    IX. 

EMINENT   WOMEN   OF   MODERN   TIMES. 

The  Countess  of  Montfort — Anna  Askew — Esther  Inglis — 
Lady  Pakington— Mrs.  Mary  "Washington — Mrs.  Wesley — 
Mrs.  Fletcher — Miss  Crosby — Ann  Hasseltine — Sarah  11.  B. 
Judson — The  Misses  Chandler — Other  Eminent  Characters 
of  Modern  Times, .        215 


INTRODUCTION. 


HRISTIANITY  is  the  special  friend  of 
woman.  Christian  civilization  has  ex- 
alted her  almost  infinitely  above  the 
position  to  which  either  paganism  or  Moham- 
medanism assigned  her.  This  elevation  is  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  the  example  and  teaching  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Unlike  other  ancient  great 
instructors,  he  did  not  repel  women  from  disciple- 
ship,  but  cordially  welcomed  her  presence  wherever 
he  taught.  His  lessons  of  wisdom,  and  his  piccious 
promises  of  life  everlasting,  were  in  all  their  full- 
ness addressed  to  her  as  freely  as  to  the  most 
honored  of  men.  His  illustrations  of  sweeping  '  ae 
house  to  find  the  lost  piece  of  silver,  and  of  the 
leaven  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  were  drawn 


\ 


11 


INTRODUCTION. 


■  I 


M 


'J. ) 


t  J 


I 


from  her  employments,  and  were  probably  suggested 
by  her  presence.  To  the  cry  of  the  poor  Syro- 
Phenician  woman,  no  less  than  to  that  of  the 
centurion  or  nobleman,  did  he  give  his  attention 
and  sympathy,  and  with  equal  speed  did  he  an- 
swer the  agonizing  prayer.  Rising  far  above  the 
trammels  of  Jewish  prejudice,  while  he  sat  weary 
at  the  mouth  of  Jacob's  well,  he  taught  the  beauty 
of  spiritual  worship  to  the  astonished  woman  of 
Samaria.  She  became  his  first  missionary  to  the 
people  of  her  city,  to  whom  she  told  the  story  of 
his  wonderful  wisdom,  and  said,  "Is  not  this  the 
Christ?''  How  kind  must  have  been  his  spirit, 
how  tender  his  words,  to  the  sisters  at  Bethany, 
to  cause  the  exclamation,  "  If  thou  hadst  been 
here,  my  brother  had  not  died  !"  How  consoling 
must  have  been  his  accents,  which  drew  the  fair 
penitent  to  his  feet,  and  which  led  her,  in  loving 
adoration,  to  wash  them  with  her  tears  and  to 
wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head !  How 
wonderful  the  manifestation  of  that  Divine  con- 
descension and  love  which  elicited  that  gratitude 
which  still  lingers  in  the  rich  perfumes  of  the  ala- 
baster-box of  precious  ointment !  No  marvel  that 
women  "followed  him  from  Galilee,"  stood   sor- 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ill 


rowfully  beholding  his  crucifixion,  and  when  he 
was  taken  from  the  cross,  "  followed  after  and  be- 
held the  sepulcher,  and  how  his  body  was  laid." 
Their  devotion  was  rewarded,  on  the  morning  of 
his  resurrection,  by  their  being  made  the  first 
messengers  of  his  glorious  triumph.  On  such 
perfect  equality  were  men  and  women  placed  by 
the  blessed  Savior  as  to  terms  of  salvation  and 
Gospel  privileges,  that  the'  apostle  exclaims,  "  In 
Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  male  nor  female." 
All  are  members  of  his  body,  and  in  him  all 
become  one. 

As  Christian  influences  more  fully  control 
society,  and  as  the  spirit  of  Christ  permeates  the 
masses,  the  position  of  woman  becomes  more 
elevated.  She  is  no  longer  considered  as  a  slave, 
and  compelled  to  bear  every  burden,  as  in  savage 
life ;  nor  is  she  a  mere  attendant,  or  minister  to 
sensual  pleasure,  as  among  the  Mohammedans. 
The  bars  are  remo\  <^d  from  the  doors  of  the  harem, 
and  the  veil  is  taken  from  her  face.  She  sits  with 
the  family  at  the  table,  entertains  her  guests,  and 
enjoys  their  society.  She  studies  with  her  broth- 
ers in  the  same  school,  recites  to  the  same  teach- 
ers, and  reads  the  same  books.     With  her  friends, 


IV 


INTRODUCTION. 


i! 


she  joins  in  the  service  and  song  and  worship  of 
the  sanctuary,  converses  in  the  social  assembly, 
and  listens  to  distinguished  speakers  as  they 
discuss  topics  of  literature,  art,  science,  or  states- 
manship. The  cry  of  suffering  humanity  touches 
her  heart,  an(!Fshe  is  deeply  interested  in  the 
great  movements  toward  the  elevation  of  the  race. 
In  this  ascent,  every  step  she  has  taken  has  been 
in  opposition  to  the  protest  of  the  spirit  of  other 
civilizations,  which  yet  lurks  in  many  a  breast. 
To  be  seen  by  strangers,  to  have  her  face  unveiled, 
to  sit  in  public  assemblies*  to  study  sciences  and 
arts,  is  contrary  to  nature,  is  an  offense  against 
purity,  and  tends  to  destroy  her  loveliness, — said 
these  inveterate  croakers.  Yet  society  recognized 
her  influence  and  power,  and  believed  she  had 
both  rights  and  duties.  Step  by  step,  odious  laws 
have  been  repealed,  her  right  to  her  own  property 
has  been  in  great  measure  secured,  doors  of  use- 
fulness have  been  opened  before  her,  her  voice  is 
welcomed  from  the  platform,  and  her  writings  from 
the  press.  She  visits  the  sick  and  the  prisoner, 
and  pleads  for  the  suffering,  until  hospitals  and 
asylums  are  founded  in  their  behalf.  She  soothes 
the  sorrows  of  the  aged,  takes  the  hand  of  the 


INTRODUCTIOi;. 


orphan  to  lead  him  in  paths  of  safety,  and  '"  the 
tumult  of  war  ministers  to  the  wounded  and  dying. 

Amidst  her  general  activity,  many  questions 
arise  as  to  what  further  avenues  of  usefulness 
may  properly  open.  How  far  may  she  engage  in 
business,  and  in  what  branches?  what  is  her 
proper  work  in  the  Church,  and  to  what  extent 
may  she  perform  public  religious  services?  is  she 
properly  a  citizen,  and  what  privileges  or  rights 
should  she  enjoy? — are  inquiries  which  are  con- 
sidered and  discussed.  The  greatest  interest  is 
at  present  excited  by  the  question,  "  Should  women 
have  the  ballot?"  and  both  in  this  country  and  in 
England  it  has  able  advocates  and  strong  op- 
ponents. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  the  answer  of  the 
large  majority  is  in  the  negative,  and  that  in  many 
instances  this  answer  comes  in  the  form  of  the 
laugh  of  ridicule  or  in  the  sneer  of  contempt. 
Such  is  the  fate  of  all  incipient  efforts  for  refor- 
mation ;  but  where  a  cause  is  intrinsically  just,  it 
can  survive  and  triumph. 

Without  entering  into  the  general  discussion, 
two  points  may  be  briefly  noted.  First,  this  ques- 
tion is  considered  only  in  Christian  lands.     It  is 


'i 


il'i 


VI 


INTRODUCTION. 


not  even  heard  of  elsewhere.  It  is  mooted  only 
in  countries  where  the  Bible  is  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  common  people.  It  is  strong  only  where 
free  institutions  have  been  established,  and  where 
liberal  ideas  have  prevailed.  It  is  the  outgrowth 
of  Bible  freedom.  Secondly,  many  of  its  oppo- 
nents are  persons  of  strong  intellect,  of  broad 
views,  of  great  benevolence,  and  of  unquestioned 
piety.  Yet  in  the  opposition  we  find  also  all,  or 
nearly  all,  of  the  most  ignorant  classes  of  society. 
We  find  also  in  the  opposition,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  entire  class  of  venders  of  intoxicating 
drinks,  drunkards,  gamblers,  and  other  notoriously 
vicious  characters.  Is  there  any  reason  for  such 
an  aggregation  ?  On  the  otner  hand,  the  friends 
of  the  measure,  though  fewer  in  number,  are  gen- 
erally found  among  the  intelligent  and  religious 
members  of  the  community.  It  is  true  that  a  few 
of  those  who  desired  to  be  recognized  as  leaders 
of  the  movement  are  known  as  free-thinkers  or 
infidels ;  and  a  still  smaller  number  have  been 
advocates  of  free-love  and  other  loathsome  vaga- 
ries. The  opponents  of  the  cause  have  skillfully 
presented  their  names  as  representatives  of  the 
idea,  and  have  thus  cast  such  odium  upon  it  that 


INTRODUCTION. 


VII 


many  timid  persons,  dreading  even  an  apparent 
association  with  them,  have  feared  to  express  their 
own  convictions.  These  odious  parties,  however, 
are  very  few  in  number,  and  their  influence  is  con- 
stantly diminishing.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  four-fifths  of  the  friends  of  female  suffrage 
are  to-day  active  members  of  various  Christian 
Churches ;  and  of  them  no  small  number  are 
ministers  distinguished  for  their  learning,  benev- 
olence, and  piety. 

The  signs  of  the  times  indicate  a  determined 
struggle  between  temperance  and  intemperance. 
The  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  is  the  source  of 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  dark  and  terrible  crimes  that 
disgrace  humanity.  It  whets  the  assassin's  dagger, 
and  pours  poison  into  the  cup  of  the  suicide.  It 
beggars  the  laborer,  breaks  the  heart  of  the  an- 
guished wife,  and  starves  the  helpless  children. 
It  fills  jails  and  penitentiaries  with  victims,  and 
hospitals  and  asylums  with  the  injured  and  hope- 
lessly wrecked.  It  fastens  on  society  an  army  of 
police  to  be  supported,  and  it  oppresses  the  land 
with  taxes.  The  money  amassed  by  the  vend- 
ers buys  our  legislators,  corrupts  our  judges  and 


I  il 


VIII 


INTRODUCTION. 


governors,  and  controls  our  political  parties.  Who 
shall  stay  its  ravages,  or  curtail  its  power  ? 

My  conviction  is,  and  for  years  has  been,  that 
the  only  hope  is  in  giving  the  ballot  to  women. 
True,  some  women  love  strong  drink,  and  some 
are  vile ;  yet  the  vast  majority  are  utterly  opposed 
to  intemperance.  None  so  well  as  the  drunkard's 
wife  knows  the  terrible  evil,  or  so  keenly  feels  its 
pangs.  Could  the  mother,  who  bows  her  head  in 
sorrow  as  she  beholds  her  loved  boy  hastening  to 
ruin  ;  the  wife,  whose  once  affectionate  husband 
has  been  transformed  into  a  demon;  the  daughter, 
whose  cheek  has  been  mantled  with  Siiame  at  her 
father's  fall,  and  who  has  suffered  the  bitterness  of 
blasted  hopes  and  of  dismal  poverty, — could  they 
have  the  ballot,  how  quickly  would  the  rum-shops 
be  closed,  and  our  youth  be  preserved  from  multi- 
fold temptations  !  What  other  triumph  could  com- 
pare with  this  ? 

With  this  conviction,  I  hail  with  pleasure  this 
volume  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Webster.  It  discusses 
an  important  question  calmly,  clearly,  forcibly.  I 
may  not  agree  with  all  of  his  positions,  or  with 
some  of  his  Biblical  criticisms,  yet  I  believe  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


IX 


work  possesses  much  merit,  will  lead  to  serious 
thoughtfulness,  and  be  productive  of  good. 

I  also  rejoice  that  the  enterprising  publishers 
whose  names  appear  on  the  imprint  have  added 
this  volume  to  their  catalogue,  and  have  thus 
given  the  influence  of  their  names,  and  their 
widely  extended  means  of  circulation,  to  a  cause 
so  intimately  connected  with  the  interests  of 
humanity.  The  Church,  in  its  various  denomina- 
tions, and  by  its  varied  agencies,  must  ever  be,  as 
it  ever  has  been,  the  leader  and  the  guide  in  great 
moral  movements. 

M.  Simpson. 


Woman  Man's  Equal. 


CHAPTER  I. 


I 
fore, 


N  the  discussion  of  the  question 
of  woman's  equality  with  man,  I 
purpose  to  prove  from  the  Bible,  as  I 
believe  I  can,  that  at  the  creation  there 
was  neither  superiority  nor  inferiority 
ordained  between  Adam  and  Eve ;  and 
that  the  partial  distinctions  which  have 
for  ages  existed,  and  which  still  exist, 
are  of  man's  invention ;  and  may,  there- 
with propriety,  be  examined,  and,  where 

9 


t   , 


Ml 

,! 

[i 

"I 


10 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Lund    unfair   or   oppressive,    may   be    justly 
condemned. 

I  hope  also  to  be  able  to  establish  the  fact, 
from  history,  that  in  every  age,  whenever  an 
opportunity  has  afforded  itself,  women  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  fully  men's  equals  in 
intellectual  capacity,  in  morality,  industry,  and 
religion  ;  .and  that,  in  matters  of  government, 
they  have  proved  themselves  to  be  as  wise 
and  judicious  rulers  as  any  of  the  opposite 
sex,  under  the  same,  or  similar,  circumstances. 
That  the  instances  in  which  women  have  been 
called  to  places  of  power  and  responsibility  in 
the  State  are  comparatively  raiC,  is  not  to  be 
attributed  to  natural  incapacity  or  mental  in- 
feriority, but  to  the  fact  of  the  persistent 
efforts  made  by  men  to  keep  them  as  much 
as  possible  in  the  background  ;  that  in  many 
instances  women  have  broken  the  fetters  of 
oppression  and  prejudice  by  which  they  were 
bound,  and  have  ascended  the  hill  of  fame  in 
advance  of  their   male  opponents.     If,  then, 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


II 


women  have  in  other  and  darker  ages  over- 
leaped the  formidable  barriers  placed  in  their 
way,  and  thus  benefited  their  respective  na- 
tions, and  sometimes  the  world,  by  their  in- 
trepidity, why  should  obstructions  be  placed  in 
their  path  now,  in  this  day  of  professed  light 
and  progress  ?  Freedom,  improvement,  and 
righteousness  ought  to  be  the  watchwords  of 
the  nations. 

After  enduring  years  of  ridicule  and  con- 
tempt, the  advocates  of  women's  rights  begin 
to  see  some  slight  indications  that  their  labors 
have  not  been  altogether  futile.  Both  in  Eng- 
land and  America  the  movement  is  now  making 
considerable  progress.  Persons  of  wealth,  of 
high  position  in  the  social  scale,  and  of  sound 
education,  have  become  its  warm  friends  and 
advocates  ;  but,  so  hard  is  it  to  remove  old- 
time  prejudice,  it  is  probable  that  many  years 
may  yet  elapse  before  women  will  be  allowed 
to  enjoy  equal  rights  and  privileges  with  men. 

All    great    reforms,  whether    European   or 


12 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


American,  are  of  slow  growth,  and  are  usually 
denounced  as  running  counter  to  Scripture 
and  common  sense ;  as  witness  the  discus- 
sions on  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish 
Church  in  Britain,  and  on  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States ;  both  of  which 
reforms  were  fiercely  assailed  as  contrary  to  the 
Word  of  God  and  reason,  and  declared  to  be  in 
fact  the  offspring  of  infidelity.  But,  like  these 
two  great  reforms,  when  movements  of  vital  im- 
portance are  once  inaugurated,  their  arriving 
at  perfection  is  but  a  matter  of  time.  Right 
is  almost  always  sure  to  prevail  in  the  end. 

The  claiming  for  women  equality  with  men, 
not  only  in  mental  capacity,  but  in  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  rights,  may  shock  the  precon- 
ceived opinions  of  many  persons,  and  will 
probably  subject  the  individual  advancing 
such  views  to  the  charge  of  fanaticism  and 
false  teaching ;  yet  we  conceive  the  claim  to 
be  consistent  with  reason,  justice,  and  the 
Word  of  God  ;  and  its  full  recognition  to  be 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


13 


of  vital  importance  to  the  entire  race  of  man- 
kind. In  the  discussion  of  this  question,  the 
object  will  not  be  to  flatter  women,  or  to 
give  offense  to  men  ;  but  simply  to  present 
the  requirements  of  impartial  justice  with 
regard  to  a  portion  of  the  human  race,  who, 
because  of  their  sex,  have  for  centuries  been 
held  in  a  position  little,  if  any,  better  than 
that  of  slaves  ;  and  who,  up  to  the  present 
time,  are  deprived  of  their  natural  rights  and 
privileges  by  the  laws  of  our  own  and  other 
countries,  professedly  civilized,  enlightened, 
and  Christian.  While,  therefore,  the  injustice 
suffered,  both  in  the  past  and  the  present,  by 
women,  will  be  briefly  presented  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  there  is  still  no  wish  to  deprive 
the  "  lords  of  creation  "  of  any  really  God-ap- 
pointed privilege.  But  should  we  happen  to 
come  in  contact  with  the  selfishness  and  the 
usurped  prerogatives  of  men,  we  will  not 
hesitate  to  expose  what  we  conceive  to  be 
grievous  wrongs,  because  of  their  antiquity. 


'n 


•i 


^1 


il 


it 


,1 


H 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


There  is  no  human  tie  so  sacred  as  that  of 
marriage ;  and  yet  there  is  no  covenant  so 
generally  violated  in  some  way  or  other  by 
many  of  the  contracting  parties.  The  alli- 
ance, it  is-  true,  may  be  continued,  and  even 
observed,  so  far  as  the  letter  is  concerned. 
But  what  of  the  spirit  ?  When  once  true 
confidence  is  lost,  the  sublime  and  exalted 
character  of  the  relation  is  destroyed.  There 
is  no  longer  any  genuine  affection,  or  real 
union  of  heart,  between  the  parties.  Nothing 
will  destroy  mutual  confidence  between  two 
parties  sooner  than  an  arrogant  assumption 
by  one  of  them  of  fancied  superiority  over  the 
other.  Self-respect  is  an  inherent  principle 
in  human  nature.  The  mind  of  prince  and 
peasant  is  alike  actuatecfVDy  it,  and  by  an  in- 
stinctive desire  for  freedom  and  independence 
of  action,  for  the  advantages  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  for  the  exercise  of  indi- 
vidual rights ;  and  this  instinctive  desire  is 
no  less  strong  in  the  hearts  of  women  than 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


IS 


of  men.  It  is  impossible  for  a  woman  of 
proper  discernment,  and  of  refined  taste  and 
liberal  education,  to  consider  herself,  simply 
because  of  her  sex,  inferior  to  her  own  male 
relatives,  or  indeed  to  any  one  of  the  opposite 
sex,  of  the  same  intellectual  powers,  literary 
attainments,  and  position  in  society.  Nothing 
but  the  influence  of  a  misdirected  or  per- 
verted education,  or  the  most  extreme  degra- 
dation and  ignorance,  can  in  any  one  induce 
the  belief  that  woman  is  the  inferior  of  man, 
merely  because  she  is  a  woman. 

No  business  firm  could  remain  together  in 
harmony  for  a  single  day,  if  it  were  understood 
that  one  of  the  partners  assumed  the  position 
that  he  was  superior  to  the  other,  who,  prior 
to  entering  into  the  partnership,  had  been  re- 
ceived in  the  same  social  circles,  and  who  had 
brought  into  the  business  an  equal  proportion 
of  funds  and  of  business  talent.  And  doubly 
preposterous  would  the  assumption  be,  if  it 
were  based  on  the  fact  that  the  assumer  was 


i6 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


the  larger  or  physically  stronger  man  ;  and, 
because  possessed  of  more  of  the  animal 
nature  than  his  partner,  it  therefore  became 
his  right  to  dictate  to  and  control  the  other. 

Such  an  assumption  as  this  is  no  more 
absurd,  nor  is  the  reasoning  upon  which  it  is 
based  more  illogical,  than  that  which  asserts 
that  woman,  because  she  is  a  woman,  is 
therefore  an  inferior,  to  be  ruled  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  her  husband  or  sons  in  her  own 
home ;  and  that  she  ought  to  be  contented 
to  be  considered  such,  and  to  be  so  treated 
by  her  own  nation  and  in  her  own  family. 
The  carrying  out  of  such  an  idea  is  more 
than  absurd.  It  is  monstrous.  It  is  an  im- 
position that  has  only  been  tolerated  because 
the  exactions  are  not  in  every  case  so  bad  as 
the  system  is  capable  of  enforcing ;  and  it  is 
one  from  which  every  advocate  of  Christian 
liberty,  to  be  consistent  with  his  profession, 
should  withdraw  both  countenance  and  tol- 
eration. 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


17 


The  history  of  woman's  wrongs  has  for  ages 
been  written  in  tears,  often  with  her  life-blood ; 
and  yet  the  volume  has,  in  most  instances, 
been  concealed  in  her  own  bosom,  notwith- 
standing its  fearful  weight.  But  if,  at  any 
time,  as  sometimes  happens,  unable  to  keep 
it  hidden  longer,  she  unfolds  the  pages  of  her 
grief  to  others,  what  an  outcry  is  raised  against 
her!  The  oppressed  Italian  peasant,  the  Rus- 
sian serf,  the  Spanish  or  American  black,  all, 
if  they  are  only  of  the  male  sex,  may  make 
their  wrongs  public,  may  even  resist  oppres- 
sion to  the  death,  and  be  applauded  for  so  do- 
ing. But  let  a  woman  speak  so  that  she  can 
be  heard,  no  matter  how  great  the  outrages 
from  which  she  has  suffered,  let  her  couch 
her  timid  complaint  in  ever  such  delicate  lan- 
guage, and  what  a  storm  of  invective  is  hurled 
at  her!  The  very  act  of  complaining  is  de- 
clared— by  the  advocates  of  her  inferiority — to 
be  in  itself  un wifely,  indecent.  "A  woman's 
voice  has  no  business  to  be  heard  outside  of 


I 


/!f|!    w 

m  " 


■        J' 


i8 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


her  own  house;  nor  t/tere,  if  her  lord  decrees 
otherwise,"  say  they.  It  is  asserted  that  she 
has  been  induced  to  give  publicity  to  her  sor- 
rows— indeed,  has  occasioned  them — by  peevish- 
ness or  imprudence,  or  by  something  worse ; 
and  thus,  by  an  unfair,  sometimes  an  alto- 
gether false,  issue  being  raised,  the  unhappy 
victim  not  merely  of  oppression,  but  of  down- 
right brutality.,  is  shut  off  from  justly  merited 
sympathy.  And  women,  too,  who  are  more 
fortunately  situated,  in  possessing  somewhat 
kinder  husbands,  or  in  being  possessed  by 
them,  shaping  their  views  according  to  those 
entertained  by  the  sterner  sex,  unite  with 
them  in  the  condemnation  of  a  sorrow-stricken 
sister ;  and,  instead  of  making  her  burden 
lighter, 'contribute  to  increasing  its  weight. 
Such  women  having  never  felt  the  iron  pierce 
their  own  souls,,  can  not  realize  the  woes  of 
those  in  whose  bosoms  the  barb  is  rankling 
at  every  pulsation,  and  they  weakly  fancy  that 
the  sorrows  of  those  suffering  ones  are  but 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


19 


the  inventions  of  an  ill-ordered  mind,  or,  at 
most,  that  the  picture  has  been  overdrawn. 

Unkind  men  are  r.jt  the  only  class,  how- 
ever, who  assert  the  inferiority  of  the  gentler 
sex.  If  they  were,  they  might  be  disposed  of 
in  a  very  summary  manner.  There  is  another 
class  not  less  dangerous,  not  less  tyrannical  or 
less  arrogant,  though  somewhat  more  plaus- 
ible. These  speak,  when  occasion  suits,  quite 
eloquently,  often  with  indecorous  flippancy,  of 
the  "great  influence  which  the  ladies  are  ca- 
pable of  exerting  upon  society ;"  and  for  the 
qualified  good  which  the  orators  graciously 
concede  that  women  have  accomplished,  or 
may  be  capable  of  accomplishing,  they  bespat- 
ter them  with  a  sort  of  sneering  praise  that  is 
absolutely  insulting  to  a  woman  of  common 
sense.  This  style  of  fulsome  flattery,  with 
some  degree  of  soft  attention,  graciously  be- 
stowed upon  women,  these  men  deem  ade- 
quate compensation  for  all  the  indignities  put 
upon    their   so-called    inferiors.      With    what 


\m 


Ml 


1 


i'li 
ill 


li 


20 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAI* 


supreme  contempt,  therefore,  must  every  right- 
minded  woman  listen  to  such  harangues,  or 
read  them  when  in  print ! 

Learned  orators  and  divines  and  grave  pro- 
fessors may,  indeed  sometimes  do,  soar  away 
almost  to  the  seventh  heaven  while  recount- 
ing the  heroic  or  generous  actions  of  women 
in  past  ages.  Admiring  audiences  are  told 
that  "gentle  women  are  the  ministering  angels, 
sent  by  the  wisdom  of  God  to  be  the  comfort- 
ers of  mankind  upon  earth,  as  the  beloved  of 
our  hearths  and  homes  ;  that  the  world,  with- 
out the  gentle  hand  of  woman  to  alleviate  our 
sorrows,  would  be  a  dark  and  dreary  solitude 
swept  by  the  whirlwinds  of  despair."  The  de- 
lighted listeners  are  borne  away  on  the  wings 
of  fancy — alas !  it  is  only  fancy — till,  in  imagi- 
nation, it  would  appear  that  woman  had  es- 
caped from  her  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage, 
had  crossed,  without  trouble,  the  Red  Sea, 
passed  the  dreadful  wilderness,  moved  out 
from  the  plains  of  Moab,  and,  by  some  peculiar 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


21 


magic  of  her  own,  had  been  deftly  wafted 
over  Jordan  into  the  promised  land ;  that 
already  she  had  gloried  in  the  tumbling-down 
of  the  walls  of  Jericho,  and  had  enjoyed  the 
triumph  of  having  the  delegation  of  Gibeon- 
ites  coming,  in  their  old  garments,  to  seek  an 
alliance  with  her  as  the  chosen  of  the  Lord. 

But  let  a  woman  allured  by  such  an  ora- 
tion ask  a  rights  and  how  soon  the  strain  is 
changed!  Let  her  ask  to  be  placed  on  an 
equality  with  man  in  regard  to  the  holding  of 
property,  or  to  civil  or  ecclesiastical  rights,  or 
authority  or  position ;  let  the  daughters  ask 
equal  rights  and  privileges  with  sons ;  let  them 
request  admission  into  the  same  colleges  and 
universities  with  their  brothers,  so  that  they 
may  compete  with  them  for  the  honors  and 
degrees  conferred  in  such  institutions, — and 
what  then }  The  flowery  oratory  is  all  gone. 
The  "angels,"  the  "heroic,  brave,  and  vir- 
tuous women,"  have  suddenly  become  agita- 
tors whose  conduct  is  unseemly.     They  "are 


i-mr 


it  Mi, 


M 


22 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


5li 


ambitious,  indelicate,  not  to  say  immodest, 
bold-faced  females" — whether  of  the  human  or 
some  other  race  we  are  not  told. 

Forgetting,  apparently,  that  the  Creator's 
universal  law  is  liberty  of  thought  and  freedom 
of  action,  coupled  with  a  strict  responsibility 
for  the  use  of  both,  those  who  are  opposed  to 
women  exercising  or  enjoying  equal  rights 
with  men,  contend,  as  an  excuse  for  their  op- 
position, that  some  of  the  women  engaged  in 
the  present  reform  movement  are  extravagant 
in  their  demands,  and  abuse  the  privileges  they 
already  possess.  Precisely  the  same  thing  was 
said  of  the  slaves  in  the  South.  Indeed,  the 
same  argument,  variously  worded,  has  been 
used  by  oppressors  in  all  ages.  "  Ye  are  idle, 
ye  are  idle,"  is  a  very  old  cry. 

But,  admitting  that  some  women  are  inju- 
dicious and  occasionally  one  is  irreverent,  are 
not  men,  in  advocating  their  peculiar  views  on 
politics,  the  same,  only  in  much  larger  propor- 
tion ?     Are  they,  therefore,   deprived  of  the 


-3S 


!^il! 


NATURAL  RIGHTS. 


23 


franchise  or  other  privileges  ?  If  men  were 
obliged  to  come  to  such  a  standard  as  they 
lay  down  for  women,  they  would  consider  the 
measure  meted  out  to  them  a  very  hard  one. 
Still,  if  it  is  a  just  and  fair  way  of  dealing 
with  woman's  suffrage  and  other  questions  of 
importance,  it  is  an  equally  just  and  fair  way 
to  deal  with  men  concerning  their  right  to 
exercise  the  franchise. 

But,  though  deprived  of  the  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical privileges  accorded  to  their  sons  and 
brothers,  women  are  yet  held  equally  account- 
able with  them  for  any  infraction  of  these 
same  civil  and  ecclesiastical  laws.  Not  sup- 
posed to  have  sufficient  mental  capacity  to 
understand  what  a  law  really  means,  she  is 
yet,  if  she  violates  that  law,  punished  for  such 
violation.  And,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  it  is 
sneeringly  asked,  "What  cari  reasonable  wo- 
men want  more  than  they  already  have  V  The 
answer  is  simple :  Equal  rights  and  privileges 
with  men. 


m 


''■■W 


vM 


24 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


And  it  is  to  be  hoped,  for  the  honor  of 
Christianity  and  civilization,  that  these  will 
soon  be  accorded. 

Very  much  has  been  accomplished  in  sev- 
eral of  the  States  of  the  Republic,  in  regard 
to  giving  women  a  proper  position  in  civil  and 
educational  matters,  but  much  still  remains  to 
be  done;  and  just  now  it  would  seem  doubtful 
which  country  will  first  accord  the  suffrage  to 
them — England  or  the  United  States.  Emi- 
nent statesmen  in  both  of  these  countries  are 
moving:  in  the  matter. 


'/'^  .^^^ 

^T^ 
^^^ 

^  v^ 

i 

^^g 

^ 

CHAPTER    II. 


Ij^ontun   xn  ^nitt|tttiy. 


N  the  preceding  chapter  it  is  men- 
tioned that  the  intention  is  to  present 
to  the  reader,  in  as  condensed  a  form 
as  possible,  some  of  the  indignities  put  upon 
women,  both  in  the  past  and  the  present,  so 
that  the  reader  may  be  able  to  form  a  candid 
judgment  on  the  subject  of  woman's  rights 
and  woman's  wrongs.  We  will,  therefore,  first 
consider  the  condition  of  the  women  of  an- 
tiquity, and  of  those  in  heathen  and  Moham- 
medan lands  ;  and,  afterward,  her  position  in 
professedly  civilized  and  Christian  countries. 
After  the  dispersion  of  mankind  at  Babel, 
we  behold,  through  the  mists  of  the  surround- 


Hi 


Mfl 


1 

1  i 

1 

1 

jllj 

1    I 

*'ii 

y 

11 

hi 

mmi 

iliLi 

26 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


ing  gloom,  the  various  tribes  into  which  the 
race  had  by  that  event  become  divided,  sub- 
sisting at  first  by  the  spontaneous  fruits  of 
the  earth,  and  by  the  chase.  Then  they  be- 
came herdsmen,  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  traffick- 
ers, varying  these  occupations  by  predatory 
warfare.  They  are  all  astir,  passing  to  and 
fro  through  the  wide  extent  of  the  regions  as 
yet  inhabited.  History,  so  far  as  it  deals  with 
the  earlier  portion  of  this  period,  necessarily 
derives  its  material  from  traditionary  legends, 
more  or  less  credible,  as  the  case  may  be. 
These  recount  the  marvelous  exploits — not 
unfrequently  manifestly  fabulous — of  their  rude 
heroes ;  their  deeds  of  might,  cheir  noble  en- 
terprises, their  indomitable  courage,  their  per- 
sistent activity,  and  often  their  deeds  of  most 
revolting  cruelty. 

Of  the  women  of  this  period  we  obtain  but 
slight  glimpses,  but  sufficient  to  show  that,  in 
their  domestic  arrangements,  the  ancients 
early  acted   upon  the  principle,  that  "might 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


27 


makes  ri^ht."  Muscle  appears  to  have  been 
at  a  premium  during  these  eras. 

Later,  the  nations  are  found  still  engaged 
in  war,  as  if  each  esteemed  the  slaughtering 
of  its  neighbors  the  grandest  and  noblest  of 
human  achievements  ;  but  their  equipments 
indicate  that,  meanwhile,  manufactures  have 
been  making  some  advancement.  Warriors 
present  a  more  formidable  appearance  than 
did  those  of  former  ages.  They  are  clad  in 
armor,  and  guard  themselves  with  breast- 
plates and  with  shields.  Their  glittering 
swords  and  spears,  their  battle-axes  and  their 
bows,  are  grasped  in  hands  only  too  eager  to 
use  them ;  and  the  combatants  press  proudly 
on  toward  the  scene  of  conflict ;  while  others, 
equally  intrepid,  but  less  military  in  their 
tastes,  still  employ  themselves  in  the  chase ; 
and  the  more  indolent  pursue  pleasures  of  a 
less  exciting  character. 

But  where,  meanwhile,  are  the  counterparts 
of  these — the  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters  of 


ill     ' 


i 


:  I 


ii 


ti' 


28 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


these  grim  warriors  and  sturdy  huntsmen,  or 
of  these  dreaming  idlers  ?  In  existence  they 
certainly  are;  but  they  exist  only  to  drudge 
and  suffer.  While  their  masters  are  employ- 
ing or  non-employing  themselves,  according 
to  the  bent  of  their  inclination,  they  are  culti- 
vating the  fields  or  watering  and  herding  the 
flocks,  bearing  heavy  burdens,  carrying  the 
luggage  of  their  husbands  to  facilitate  progress 
on  the  war-path ;  or  at  home  rearing  up  chil- 
dren, who  rarely  rise  up  to  call  them  blessed ; 
or  they  are  waiting,  in  submissive  obedience, 
at  the  feet  of  their  reclining  lords,  to  be  petted 
and  caressed  or  cursed  and  kicked,  as  passion 
or  caprice  may  dictate — subjected  alike  to 
neglect,  contempt,  and  abuse.  Exceptions  to 
this  general  rule  doubtless  occurred  occasion- 
ally ;  for  irresponsible  power  does  not  of  neces- 
sity convert  every  man  into  a*i  unfeeling  tyrant, 
just  as  under  other  systems  of  slavery,  some 
were  fortunate  enough  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  kind,  considerate  owners,  whose  hearts  they 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


29 


inspired  with  love  and  tendernebs  ;  but  neither 
bound  wife  nor  bond  slave  was  treated  with 
kindness,  respect,  or  common  justice,  because 
their  inherent  right  to  be  so  treated  was  rec- 
ognized. It  mattered  little  to  the  women  of 
this  period  whether  they  were  held  as  wives 
or  concubines  ;  their  actual  condition  was  that 
of  slavery. 

In  none  of  the  countries  of  antiquity  had 
women  more  liberty  than  in  Egypt ;  and  yet 
what  was  her  real  condition  there }  Alexander 
remarked,  it  is  true,  that  though  "  the  women 
promised  obedience,  men  often  yielded  it ;" 
and,  in  many  instances,  it  is  equally  true  that 
the  laws  respecting  women  were  immeasura- 
bly in  advance  of  those  of  neighboring  nations  ; 
as,  for  instance:  Each  wife  had  entire  control 
of  her  own  house.  Among  the  princes  nearest 
the  throne,  women  might  take  their  places, 
and  even  reign  as  sovereigns  (a  regency  was 
frequently  committed  to  their  care);  or  they 
might  rule  as  joint  sovereigns  with  another 


■4- 


'■m' 


I  ' 


30 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


party ;  and  as  Isis  took  rank  above  Osiris,  so 
in  such  a  case  the  woman  might  take  rank 
above   the  man.* 

But  notwithstanding  this  advance  beyond 
other  nations,  they  were  still  spoken  of,  and 
in  many  instances  not  only  treated  as  inferiors, 
but  held  in  hopeless  bondage. 

Among  the  Greeks,  the  wife  was  at  times 
permitted  to  take  part  in  public  assemblies, 
but  never  as  the  equal  of  her  husband.  She 
neither  went  with  him  to  dinner,  when  he 
dined  out,  nor  sat  at  table  with  those  whom 
he  invited  to  his  house.  Aristotle  held  that 
"the  relation  of  men  to  women  is  thai  of 
governor  to  a  subject."  Plato  says :  *'A  woman's 
virtue  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words :  for 
she  has  only  to  manage  the  house  well,  keep- 
ing what  there  is  in  it,  and  obeying  her  hus- 
band." Again,  in  further  proof  of  the  low 
estimation  in  which  he  held  women,  he  says : 
**  Of  the  men  that  were  born,  such  as  are  timid 

*Sharpe's  "History of  Egypt." 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


31 


s,  so 
rank 

;yond 
,  and 
iiiors, 

limes 
Liblies, 

She 
en  he 
whom 
d  that 
lat  of 
Dman  s 
ds :  for 

keep- 
r  hus- 
le  low 
i  says : 
le  timid 


and  have  passed  through  life  unjustly  are,  we 
suppose,  changed  into  women  in  their  second 
generation."  Plutarch  tells  us  that  women 
"  were  compelled  to  go  barefoot,  in  order  to 
induce  th^m  to  keep  at  home." 

The  Spartan  women  were  better  off  than 
their  neighbors  ;  and,  in  consequence,  we  get 
glimpses  of  a  higher  type  of  womanhood.  The 
Spartan  mother  has  furnished  a  theme  for  the 
pv-^n  of  every  ancient  Greek  historian.  Under 
the  Lycurgean  system,  women  were  considered 
"  as  a  part  of  the  Slate,"  and  not  simply  house- 
hold articles  belonging  to  their  husbands — 
chattels  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  the 
supreme  pleasure  of  their  masters.  Free 
women  were  trained  for  the  service  of  the 
State  with  scarcely  less  severity  than  men. 
Lycurgus  remarks :  "  Female  slaves  are  good 
enough  to  sit  at  home,  weaving  and  spinning  ; 
but  who  can  expect  a  splendid  offspring — the 
appropriate  mission  and  duty  of  free  Spartan 
women  toward  their  country — from  mothers 


32 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


brought  up  in  such  occupations  ?"  But  though, 
like  the  Egyptian  women,  and  indeed  in  ad- 
vance of  them,  the  Spartan  women  were  treated 
with,  for  the  times,  a  marked  degree  of  atten- 
tion and  respect,  still,  even  in  Sparta^there  were 
laws  in  force  by  which  women  suffered  griev- 
OMS  injustice.  With  all  the  apparent  freedom 
accorded  to  them,  fathers  claimed  and  exer- 
cised the  right  of  disposing  of  their  daughtc  ' 
in  marriage  to  suit  their  own  views  or  interests. 
Though  free-born,  a  girl  had  no  choice,  if  her 
father  willed  it  so,  in  the  selection  of  her  hus- 
band ;  and  husbands  might,  if  they  wished, 
dispose  of  their  wives  by  will,  at  death,  as  they 
would  of  any  other  piece  of  property.  Though 
in  a  measure  free,  because  she  was  a  woman, 
she  was  still  a  slave. 

Among  the  other  infringements  of  the  rights 
of  women,  and  one  of  the  most  barbarous, 
common  to  the  heathen,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  and  to  the  Mohammedans,  is  early 
betrothal.      In  fact,  the  system  of  betrothal 


I  * 


'•'■ '  i 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


33 


prevailed  to  a  very  great  extent  among  the 
very  earliest  nations  of  which  history  furnishes 
any  account,  the  laws  affecting  it  being  only 
slightly  modified  to  suit  the  circumstances  of 
the  various  tribes  by  which  it  was  adopted. 
The  main  feature  was  still  the  same — the  girl 
had  no  choice ;  there  was  nothing  for  her  but 
submission. 

The  lot  of  woman  in  China  has,  from  time 
immemorial,  been  a  hard  one.  Says  a  writer 
in  the  Westminster  Review  for  October,  1855  : 
"  Of  all  nations,  the  Chinese  carry  out  the  sys- 
tem of  early  betrothal  most  completely ;  par- 
ents in  China  not  only  bargain  for  the  marriage 
of  their  children  during  their  infancy,  but  while 
they  are  yet  unborn.  If,  when  a  daughter  is 
betrothed  during  infancy,  the  contract  should 
not  assume  the  form  of  actual  sale,  it  is  never- 
theless usual  for  the  bridegroom,  at  the  time  he 
acquires  possession  of  the  bride,  to  pay  into  the 
hands  of  her  father  a  sum  considered  equivalent 
to  the  current  value  of  a  wife."    Immortality  is 


\m 


i«i 


il'!i 


( 


'Xf,   ': 
llli 

is]    ■ 


34 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


denied  to  woman  by  them.  A  Christian,  in- 
tent on  the  evangelization  of  the  Chinese, 
spoke  to  one  regarding  the  salvation  of  their 
women.  "Women,"  replied  the  Chinaman; 
"  women  have  no  souls.  You  can  *t  make 
Christians  of  them."  Few  persons  born  in 
civilized  lands,  unless  brought  into  immediate 
contact  with  the  heathen,  can  have  any  idea  of 
the  wretched  condition  of  their  women,  even 
at  this  day.  Kept  in  a  state  of  abject  bondage, 
they  are  compelled  to  serve  with  rigor.  Con- 
trolled as  though  they  were  possessed  of  less 
intelligence  than  male  children  of  tender  years, 
it  might  yet  be  supposed,  from  the  burdens 
laid  upon  them,  that  they  were  possessed  of 
far  superior  strength,  physically,  than  men. 
In  some  countries — not  all  of  them  heathen  or 
Mohammedan  either — the  amount  of  labor 
imposed  upon  women  of  the  lower  orders  in 
society  would  task  the  strength  of  beasts  of 
burden.  The  only  exercise  of  reason  allowed 
among  such,  is  a  sort  of  instinct  which  will 


WW- 
1!  ill! 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


35 


I,  in- 

nese, 
tbeir 

tman ; 
make 

)rn  in 

lediate 

idea  of 

1,  even 

)ndage, 

Con-    . 
of  less 

Ir  years, 
urdens 

Issed  of 
,n  men. 
Lthen  or 
,f  labor 
Irders  in 
leasts  of 
allowed 

ich  will 


enable  them  to  perform  all  kinds  of  drudgery, 
and  to  act  with  scrupulous  fidelity  to  their 
unkind,  very  often  brutal  and  faithless^  hus- 
bands— task-masters  would  be  the  better  name. 
Of  women  under  such  rule,  it  may  truly  be 
said,  the  grave  is  their  best,  their  only  frier  I. 
Among  the  Arabs,  prior  to  Mohammed,  the 
women  were  in  a  wretchedly  debased  condi- 
tion, which  has  been  but  slightly  improved  by 
the  rules  of  the  Koran.  By  its  sanction,  wives 
were  bought  by  their  husbands,  though  it  was 
asserted  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  men  to  ex- 
change their  wives.  The  price  paid  by  Mo- 
hammed for  his  wives,  of  which  he  had  nine, 
varied,  according  to  their  rank  and  beauty, 
from  one  to  one  hundred  dollars  each.  The 
common  people  procured  theirs  at  a  cheaper 
rate.  Specific  directions  are  given,  too,  for' 
the  proper  government  of  women.  "  Those 
wives,"  says  Mohammed,  "  whose  perverseness 
ye  may  be  apprehensive  of,  rebuke,  and  remove 
them  into  separate  apartments,  and   chastise 


m 


mil 


36 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


them."*  When  such  precepts  as  these  were 
laid  down  in  the  Koran,  which  was  considered 
a  direct  revelation  from  God,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  the  severest  punishment  was  inflicted 
on  women  who  attempted  to  exercise  any  con- 
trol over  themselves  or  their  households.  The 
will  of  the  proud,  insolent  Arab  was  supreme, 
whether  his  demands  were  reasonable  or  other- 
wise ;  having  bought  his  wives  cheap,  he  might 
maltreat  or  divorce  them  at  pleasure.  Like 
the  Cninese,  the  Mohammedan  women  are 
denied  the  hope  of  immortality.  "Earthly 
women,  when  they  die,  cease  to  have  any  ex- 
istence ;  but  men,  if  faithful  to  Mohammed,  are 
to  enter  paradise,  and  be  associated  with  a  new 
race  of  transcendently  beautiful  female  beings." 
**  The  glories  of  eternity,"  says  the  Koran, "  will 
be  eclipsed  by  the  resplendent  *  women  of  par- 
adise,' created  *not  of  clay,  as  mortal  women 
are,  but  of  pure  musk,  and  free  from  uil  nat- 
ural impurities,  defects,  and   inconveniencies 

*  Koran,  chap.  iv. 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


37 


incident  to    the  sex ;     .     .     .     secluded  from 
public  view  in  pavilions  of  hollow  pearl.'  "* 

A  distinguished  European  writer  observes : 
"  The  Hindoos  seem  to  have  legislated  with 
the  greatest  care  and  detail  concerning  women. 
Yet  by  no  people,  legally  speaking,  is  her  in- 
dividuality more  entirely  ignored ;  and  in  no 
country  is  the  slavery  in  which  she  lives,  at 
once  so  systematic,  refined,  and  complete  as  it 
is  in  India,  where  the  lawgiver  and  the  priest 
are  one.  The  oppressive  custom  of  life-long 
guardianship  is  expressly  ordained.  By  a  girl, 
or  by  a  woman  advanced  in  years,  nothing 
must  be  done,  even  in  her  own  dwelling-place, 
according  to  her  mere  pleasure.  In  child- 
hood must  a  female  be  dependent  <.n  her 
father,  in  youth  on  her  husband ;  her  lord 
being  dead,  on  her  sons ;  if  she  have  no 
sons,  on  the  near  kiisman  of  her  husband; 
if  he  left  no  kinsman,  on  those  of  her  father ; 
if   she  have    no    parental   kinsman,   on    the 

*  Sale's  "  Preliminary  Discourses  on  the  Koran,"  sec.  4. 


lip" 


38 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


sovereign. 


'd 


ih::^i 


A  woman  must  never  seek  inde- 
pendence."* Not  permitted  to  have  any  dis- 
cretionary power  over  her  own  actions  at  any 
period  of  her  life,  but  held  in  every  respect  sub- 
ject to  the  will  of  her  husband,  or  some  other 
male  guardian,  she  is  nevertheless  to  be  un- 
swervingly faithful  to  her  lord  while  he  lives  ; 
and  no  matter  how  cruelly  he  may  have 
treated  her,  she  is  loaded  with  contumely,  re- 
proach, and  scorn,  if  she  refuses  to  lay  herself 
upon  the  funeral  pile,  and  in  the  flames  pass 
into  another  state  of  being,  to  do  honor  to 
him  who  through  life  had  been  an  unrelenting 
tyrant.  Knowing  the  obloquy  which  attaches 
itself  to  the  widow  who  recoils  from  such  a 
fearful  death-bed,  and  ignorant,  too,  of  the 
"  better  way,"  the  unfortunate  creature  gener- 
ally yields  to  the  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  her,  and  terminates  a  miserable  life  by 
an  awful  death ;  her  horrid  shrieks,  while 
burning,  mingling  with  the  clamor  of  sounds 

*  "  Laws  of  Menu." 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


39 


raised  to  drown  them  b}^  the  heartless  ^nrong 
of  spectators,  and  yet  sometimes  rising  with 
distressing  distinctness  above  them.  When 
the  wife  of  a  Hindoo  dies,  does  he  sacrifice 
himself  upon  a  funeral  pile,  in  order  to  honor 
her  in  another  state  of  existence }  By  no 
means.  His  precious  body  can  not  be  com- 
mitted to  the  flames  ;  they  are  too  hot  for  his 
manly  courage.  He  burns  her  corpse  with 
what  are  termed  appropriate  offerings  ;  and,  if 
so  disposed,  adds  a  new  wife  to  his  household, 
thus  soothing  his  sorrow. 

In  Australia,  the  practice  of  early  betrothal 
is  nearly  universal  among  the  natives ;  men  of 
distinction  having  several  wives  at  the  same 
time,  and  these  varying  in  age  from  the  little 
child  to  the  woman  of  mature  years.  But 
while  polygamy  prevails  to  a  fearful  extent 
among  the  men  of  the  wealthier  class,  many 
of  the  men  of  the  humbler  ranks  remain  un- 
married,  because  they  are  unable  to  raise  the 
purchase-money    which    secures    them    their 


40 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


fi; 


,il 


I 


domestic  drudge.  In  the  western  part  of 
Australia,  especially  before  the  benefits  of 
civilization  began  to  be  felt  in  the  island,  it 
was  the  practice  to  betroth  the  daughters  to 
some  individual,  immediately  upon  their  birth  ; 
and  should  the  man,  or  male  child  to  whom 
the  infant  girl  was  betrothed,  die  before  she 
arrived  at  maturity,  she  became  the  properiy 
of  the  heirs  of  her  betrothed  husband,  though 
she  might  never  have  seen  either  this  reputed 
husband,  or  the  person  who,  as  his  representa- 
tive, claimed  her  as  his  wife  by  virtue  of  the 
betrothal.  In  New  Zealand,  if  the  spouse  of 
a  female  child  dies  before  she  is  taken  to  his 
home,  she  is  never  allowed  to  marry  any  one 
else.  By  this  custom  young  children  become 
the  widows  of  little  boys  or  old  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  whims  of  their  fathers.  Another 
horrible  practice  of  the  Australians  is,  the 
exchange  of  daughters  by  their  fathers.  This 
is  very  common  among  the  chiefs,  the  exchange 
being  made  with  as  little  concern  as  jockeys 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


4' 


exchange  their  horses.  It  is  stated  that  the 
poorer  men  sometimes  supplied  themselves 
with  wives  after  the  manner  of  the  Romans 
in  the  case  of  the  Sabine  Rape ;  and  that 
when  victorious  in  war,  the  women  and  girls 
captured  were  taken  as  wives,  while  the  male 
prisoners  were  put  to  death.  But  where  they 
were  able  to  afford  it,  they  preferred  the  be- 
trothal system,  as  giving  them  more  conse- 
quence. Not  only  in  Australia,  but  in  the 
other  countries  where  early  betrothal  was 
practiced,  if,  when  a  boy  grew  up,  he  formed  a 
dislike  to  his  betrothed,  or  for  some  other 
whim  desired  to  cast  her  off,  he  was  at  liberty 
to  do  so,  but  no  such  privilege  was  granted  the 
girl.  Then,  as  now  in  civilized  nations,  those 
making  the  laws  were  careful  to  make  them 
all  to  their  own  advantage. 

In  the  foundation  of  some  of  the  nations  of 
antiquity,  men  were  frequently  gathered,  from 
almost  every  quarter  of  the  then  known  globe, 
to  the  particular  spot  that  seemed  best  suited 


42 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


a- 


ti  ! 


for  the  purposes  of  self-aggrandizement ;  and, 
in  the  rude  horde  thus  congregated  together, 
there  was  necessarily  an  undue  preponderance 
of  the  male  element.  In  some  instances,  not 
one  woman  was  to  be  found  in  such  a  commu- 
nity. The  tribes  more  immediately  contiguous 
to  these  settlements,  if  such  they  might  be 
called,  were  not  inclined  to  enter  into  friendly 
relations  with  them,  and  therefore  they  wer^ 
unable  to  supply  themselves  with  wives  in 
the  usual  manner ;  consequently,  they  had 
recourse  to  other  means.  Sometimes  women 
were  procured  by  stratagem  ;  sometimes  bands 
of  marauders  sallied  forth,  and  stole,  or  in 
some  other  equally  exceptionable  way  took 
possession  of,  the  women  of  the  neighboring 
or  of  hostile  tribes. 

Ordinarily,  the  poor  victims  submitted  to 
their  fate  with  the  best  grace  they  might ; 
but  if  one  thus  taken  by  force  attempted  to 
make  her  ej^cape  from  him  who  claimed  her 
as  his  wife,  and  was   unfortunate  enough  to 


ti 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


43 


to 

to 
her 
to 


be  retaken,  a  spear,  or  some  similar  weapon, 
was  thrust  through  the  fleshy  portion  of  one 
of  her  limbs,  effectually,  disabling  her  from 
making  another  attempt  of  the  kind ;  and  not 
unfrequently  the  combined  bodily  pain  and 
mental  anguish  terminated  in  death — a  happy 
release. 

In  process  of  time,  however,  the  various 
tribes  began  to  regard  each  other  with  less 
aversion  than  formerly ;  and  it  became  safer 
and  more  profitable  to  purchase  women,  on 
the  same  principle  that  any  other  kind  of 
merchandise  was  bought.  Prices  were  regu- 
lated according  to  the  supply  in  the  market 
and  the  beauty  or  the  muscular  strength  of 
the  hapless  creatures  exposed  for  sale.  Fa- 
thers sold  or  exchanged  their  daughters, 
brothers  their  sisters,  without  the  slightest 
shame  or  remorse.  Among  the  Tambanks,  in 
exchanging  the  women  for  stock,  ^  woman, 
full-grown  and  of  ordinary  strength,  was  con- 
sidered equal  in  value  to  two  cows  or  one  ox. 


t 


1 


44 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


As  the  settlements  became  more  perma- 
nent, assuming  by  degrees  the  character  of 
established  nations,  and  the  centers  of  enter- 
prise grew  into  populous  cities,  the  barter 
and  exchange  traffic  naturally  declined ;  but 
in  its  place  were  established  regular  markets 
for  the  sale  of  female  slaves.  Civilization  was 
beginning  to  make  some  slight  progress ;  and 
fathers  began  to  entertain  doubts  regarding 
the  propriety  of  selling  their  own  flesh  and 
blood,  though  they  did  not  hesitate  to  buy 
their  wives. 

The  slaves  who  were  exposed  in  the  market- 
places, therefore,  were  generally  the  overplus 
not  aesired  in  the  harems  of  those  who  had 
captured  them  in  war :  and  as  the  most  beau- 
tiful brought  the  highest  .market-price,  the 
public  exhibitions  of  the  poor  unfortunates 
drew  thither  crowds  of  gaping  people — some 
merely  curious,  some  intent  on  business.  Even 
in  more  modern  days,  the  slave-markets  of 
the  East,  and  in  the  Southern  States  of  the 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


45 


American  Republic,  have  attracted  crowds 
of  spectators — some  to  condemn  the  horrible 
practice,  some  to  compassionate  the  unhappy 
victims,  but  most  to  engage  in  the  monstrous 
traffic. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  review  further,  in 
detail,  the  condition  of  women  in  the  various 
nations  as  they  sprang  into  existence,  or 
through  the  successive  periods  of  their  history 
to  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 
Various  causes  brought  about  a  partial  liberty 
for  women,  in  both  the  Jewish  and  Roman 
rations,  prior  to  the  birth  of  Christ ;  but  for 
those  of  other  lands  the  blackness  of  darkness 
still  remained.  It  was  but  a  partial  liberty, 
it  is  true,  even  for  the  Hebrew  or  Roman 
women,  but  their  condition  was  much  im- 
proved. Concessions  had  been  made  slowly. 
They  had  come  in  shreds,  and  had  not 
amounted  to  much  in  ameliorating  their  sit- 
uation when  they  came  ;  but  slight  as  were 
the   privileges  yielded,  they  were  yet  indica- 


46 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


tions  of  the  dawning  of  a  brighter  day  for 
Eve's  poor  daughters. 

The  reformations  effected  were  like  wresting 
prey  from  the  mighty.  And  how  could  it  be 
otherwise,  with  selfishness  and  love  of  power, 
sustained  by  unjust  and  one-sided  laws,  ar- 
rayed against  merely  natural  rights — not  de- 
manded, scarcely  even  asserted — and  those  to 
whom  these  rights  belonged  excluded  from 
every  position  where  they  might  hope  to  do 
either  the  one  or  the  other  successfully  ?  The 
law  of  divorce  was  still  common  ;  and,  like 
every  thing  else  where  the  sexes  were  con- 
cerned, all  the  advantages  were  on  the  side 
of  the  oppressor,  man. 

The  laws  of  the  Romans,  though  according 
a  greater  degree  of  freedom  to  woman  than 
had  hitherto  been  granted,  were  still  not  only 
imperfect,  but  were  not  properly  carried  out, 
in  many  instances,  where  it  suited  venal 
judges  to  side  with  wealthy  libertines  who 
might   have   it   in   their   power   to   bestow  a 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


47 


mg 

My 

)Ut, 

Inal 
a 


favor.  Professedly,  each  Roman  had  but  one 
wife ;  but  divorces,  on  most  frivolous  pretexts, 
were  of  frequent  occurrence,  granted  in  favor 
of  one  who  wished  to  gratify  his  licentious 
passions  without  rebuke.  Slavery  was  yet  in 
force ;  and  it  gave  ample  opportunity  for 
the  practice  of  this  injustice,  even  upon  the 
free-born  Roman  woman.  Every  true  Roman 
held  his  wife's  or  his  daughter's  honor  sacred, 
and  would  resent  to  the  death  any  attempt  to 
violate  it ;  but,  by  the  connivance  of  corrupt 
officials,  the  protection  of  an  upright  father 
was  rendered  of  no  avail,  by  a  perjurer  being 
found  who  would  appear  before  the  proper 
tribunal  and  swear  the  maid  or  woman  in 
question  to  be  his  slave.  The  decision  once 
given  in  the  libertine's  favor,  there  was  no 
longer  hope  for  her — she  was  lost  forever. 

Not  always,  however,  would  Roman  freemen 
tamely  brook  open  injustice,  much  less  shame, 
without  revenging  it,  though  they  died  in  doing 
so.     The  case  of  Appius — who  was  himself 


48 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


■i    % 


both  the  libertine  and  judge — is  in  point. 
Having  set  his  licentious  eyes  upon  the  beau- 
tiful Virginia — daughter  of  Virginius,  a  cen- 
turion of  the  army — and  having  in  vain  sought 
to  obtain  possession  of  her  person  by  tamper- 
ing with  the  matron  who  conveyed  her  to  and 
from  her  school,  he  induced  an  equally  licen- 
tious individual,  one  Claudius,  to  claim  her  as 
his  slave,  and  bring  the  matter  before  him- 
self for  decision.  In  vain  the  anguished 
father  asserted  that  Virginia  was  his  child. 
With  an  air  of  apparent  impartiality,  Appius 
decreed  that  she  belonged  to  Claudius,  who 
thereupon  proceeded  to  remove  her.  The 
father  begged  that  they  might  at  least  be 
allowed  to  take  leave  of  each  other,  which 
request  was  granted,  on  condition  of  their 
doing  so  in  the  presence  of  the  oppressor. 
Drawing  the  girl,  now  nearly  dead  from  fright, 
toward  himself,  and  also  toward  the  shambles, 
adjoining  which  they  were,  he  snatched  thence 
a  knife,  and,  before  any  suspected  his  inten- 


WOMAN  IN  ANTIQUITY. 


49 


tion,  stabbed  her  to  the  heart,  crying,  "  This 
alone  can  preserve  your  honor  and  your 
freedom."* 

The  fearful  deed  of  the  centurion  is  appall- 
ing ;  but  remember  his  ideas  of  right  and 
Wrong  were  veiled  in  pagan  darkness.  He 
took  the  life  of  his  child  to  save  her  from  a 
fate  incomparably  worse  than  that  of  death  ; 
and  made  his  name  historic  by  doing  so. 
Thousands  of  fathers  have  found  their  efforts 
to  protect  the  innocence  of  their  daughters  as 
unavailing  as  did  the  unhappy  Virginius,  un- 
less, like  him,  they  shortened  life."  The  vic- 
tims, too,  are  as  little  free-will  agents  in  the 
matter  as  Virginia  would  have  been ;  and 
many  thousands  of  daughters  have  fallen,  not 
by  their  father's  hand  to  save  their  honor, 
but  by  cruel  deception,  and  died  to  all  that 
was  beautiful  or  pure  on  earth,  and  to  every 
hope  of  heaven. 

And  while  the  woman  who  has  sinned,  and 

*Bloss,  page  334. 


50 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


It-.' 

If: 


I!-.,! 


1 

ll 


i 


fallen  through  that  sin,  is  pitied  by  few, 
despised  by  nearly  all,  and  but  little  effort 
made  to  win  her  back  to  the  path  of  purity, 
how  is  the  companion  of  her  sin  treated  ? 
He,  the  seducer — often  the  grossest  of  de- 
ceivers, the  instigator  of  the  crime — because 
he  is  a  man,  is  coimtenanced  by  the  many, 
his  conduct  palliated,  and  h:  nself  received  as 
an  honored  guest,  even  in  the  highest  circles 
of  society.  The  law  of  God  makes  no  dis- 
tinct:')n  bcween  the  male  violator  of  His  holy 
law  and  the  female  violator  of  the  same ;  but 
man,  arrogating  to  himself  superior  wisdom, 
makes  a  very  marked  ore. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  women  groan  because 
of  their  bondage. 


1      :.i 


ss© 


CHAPTER   III. 


-a 


it^€ 


lilttttti^  of  "M/Iatttttn. 


N  the  discussion  of  the  position  occu- 
pied by  women  as  wives,  those  only 
have  been  spoken  of  who  were  be- 
trothed in  infancy,  or  were  captured,  stolen, 
or  bought.  These  latter  were,  without  further 
ceremony,  merely  taken  home  to  the  abode 
of  their  future  husband  and  lord.  In  the  later 
periods  of  antiquity,  betrothal  terminated  in  a 
marriage  ceremony,  the  rite  varying  according 
to  the  prevailing  customs  of  each  nation. 

Opinions  with  regard  to  the  qualifications 
which  ought  to  be  possessed  by  a  woman  to 
fit  her  for  marriage — which  were,  in  fact,  con- 
sidered indispensable — were  as  various  as  the 

51 


52 


WOMAN  MANN  EQUAL. 


M 


nations  or  the  ri*  :s ;  and,  truth  to  tell,  are 
about  as  conflicting  now  as  they  were  centu- 
ries ago.  In  all  the  ages,  and  in  every  coun- 
try, one  thing  seemed  to  be  agreed  upon, 
however,  and  sedulously  kept  in  view ;  namely, 
%vomans  mfcriority.  Let  her  be  free-born  or 
a  slave,  to  be  married  or  bought,  she  must 
still  be  a  bondwoman — a  creature  subject  to 
guardianship. 

After  men  began  to  desire  wives  who  were 
not  altogether  drudges,  women  bcf^an  to  be 
esteemed  in  proportion  to  their  beauty,  not 
their  wisdom  or  good  judgment.  A  fine  figure, 
delicate  hands,  and  handsome  face,  with  fasci- 
nating manners,  a  graceful  carriage,  and  such 
accomplishments  as  were  the  fashion,  quite 
regardless  of  the  accomplishments  of  head  or 
heart,  were  all  that  were  required  by  the  class 
of  men  who  could  afford  to  keep  such  dainty 
wares.  But  love,  inspired  by  such  attractions 
as  these  and  nothing  else,  is  ever  fickle  as  the 
wind.    When  health  declined  and  beauty  faded. 


ill 


LATER  ESTIMATE  OF  WOMAN. 


53 


:h 
:q 
or 

ss 

ty 

ns 
Ihe 


the  fire  of  passion,  misnamed  love,  died  out ; 
and  the  hapless  wife  frequently  found  herself 
deserted — if  not  openly,  none  the  less  shame- 
fully— for  a  younger  rival,  whuse  eye  was 
brighter  and  whose  cheek  mare  plump.  Then 
shrewd  women  began  to  -study  artifice.  De- 
ception is  wrong,  without  doubt ;  but  before  we 
too  severely  censure  these  women,  let  us  re- 
member how  deeply  they  were  wronged,  how 
great  their  temptations,  how  much  they  had 
at  stake.  In  order  to  retain  any  thing  like  a 
comfortable  or  respectable  position  in  their 
husband's  houses,  the  waning  beauties  resorted 
to  flattery  and  to  the  invention  and  skillful  use 
cf  vp^'ous  articles  which  would  conceal  the  de- 
clension of  beauty  or  artfully  counterfeit  it. 
The  ways  and  means  by  which  attractiveness 
of  face  and  figure  might  be  enhanced,  pre- 
served, or  simulated,  became  the  subject  of 
serious  study — something  neither  to  be  sneered 
at  nor  laughed  at.  The  happiness  of  a  life- 
time often  depended  upon  it.     The  sex,  taught 


t;h 


I 


h 


« 


11 


54 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


by  a  bitter  experience,  learned  that  men,  as  a 
rule,  were  more  easily  influenced  by  blandish- 
ment and  show  than  by  good  sense  and  genu- 
ine worth,  and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  strove 
somewhat  to  better  their  condition  by  prac- 
ticing the  lesson  so  learned.  If,  in  the  long 
run,  women  became  frivolous,  brainless,  and 
heartless,  why  was  it  ? 

There  were,  however,  in  all  ages,  exceptions. 
Women,  yielding  to  the  God-given  yearning 
after  higher  and  better  things  than  idle  fri- 
volities, and  longing  just  as  ardently  for  love 
and  happiness  in  their  married  homes,  sought 
to  work  out  life's  problem  differently,  and 
went  to  work  as  rational  creatures.  Breaking 
through  or  over  the  obstacles  which  debarred 
them  from  enjoying  or  making  use  of  the 
sources  of  information  open  to  the  opposite  sex, 
they  strove  to  cultivate  their  minds  and  store 
them  with  useful  knowledge,  that  they  miglit 
indeed  be  helpmeets  for  their  husbands,  and  so 
not  only  win,  but  by  true  worth  retain,  their  love. 


'    I 


LATER  ESTIMATE  OF  WOMAN. 


55 


ing 


Then  those  who  had  hitherto  sneered  at 
woman's  incapacity  for  intellectual  attain- 
ments, or  lectured  her  roundly  for  frivolity, 
heartlessness,  and  deception,  sneered  all  the 
more  at  her  presumption  in  fancying  her  heart, 
or  head  either,  required  any  other  cultivation 
than  man,  in  his  wisdom,  saw  fitting.  Any 
thing  at  all  likely  to  elevate  woman  to  her 
proper  place  of  equality  with  her  husband, 
must  be  put  down  at  once  and  forever,  if  pos- 
sible. But,  notwithstanding  all  the  pains  taken 
to  place  women  in  an  inferior  position,  and 
keep  them  there,  they  have,  in  many  instances, 
despite  the  sneers  and  persecutions  of  the  op- 
posite sex,  proved  their  aptitude  in  acquiring 
knowledge ;  and,  when  placed  in  positions  to 
call  forth  such  powers,  have  manifested  a  judi- 
cious tact  in  the  government  of  nations  or 
generalship  of  a'^mies,  quite  equal  to  men,  with 
all  their  vaunted  superiority.  Nor  did  those 
women  who  thus  distinguished  themselves,  or 
those  who  in  private  life  became  proficients 


5^) 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


\li  T 


•fi'  i 


in  the  variou;*  branches  of  science  or.  in  music, 
poetry  or  the  languages,  necessarily  neglect 
their  homes  and  families  in  consequence.  Ex- 
perience, in  our  own  times,  proves  exactly  the 
reverse.  Dereliction  of  duty  with  regard  to 
home  duties  results  much  more  frequently 
from  devotion  to  fashionable  pleasures — con- 
sidered quite  allowable  and  womanly — than 
from  the  pursuit  of  literature. 

That  marriage  was  designed  by  the  Creator 
for  the  mutual  benefit,  help,  and  happiness  of 
those  entering  into  that  relation,  there  can  be 
no  doubt ;  but,  through  the  selfishness  of  man — 
helped  on  by  the  fact  that,  like  the  partner 
referred  to  previously,  he  was  physically  the 
stronger  of  the  two — the  gracious  purposes  of 
the  Creator  were  lost  sight  of,  or  ignored. 
And  God  suffered  it  so  to  be,  for  the  time, 
just  as  he  did  other  forms  of  slavery  and 
outcrying  sins  of  various  kinds. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  marriage  cere- 
monies and  festivals  were  as  various  as  the 


i  ii 


LATER  ESTIMATE  OF  WOMAN. 


57 


several  nations  in  which  they  were  performed. 
A  description  of  a  few  of  these  may  not  be 


uninteresting. 


Among  the  Jews,  the  period  of  betrothal 
having  expired,  the  marriage  was  celebrated 
by  a  feast,  the  bride  being  arrayed  as  magnif- 
icently as  her  circumstances  would  allow.  If 
the  contracting  parties  were  distinguished  per- 
sonages, the  ceremony  was  frequently  cele- 
brated at  night,  the  bridal  party,  carrying 
their  lamps  or  torches  with  them,  going  forth 
in  procession  to  meet  and  do  honor  to  the 
bridegroom. 

With  the  Romans,  the  consent  of  the  father 
or  guardian  of  the  maiden  having  been  ob- 
tained, a  sacrifice  was  prepared.  "The  gall 
was  carefully  removed,"  and  the  propitiatory 
offering  made  to  the  gods.  To  have  been 
emblematical,  the  gall  should  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  bride.  In  most  cases,  it  fell  to 
her  lot.  On  the  wedding-day  the  bridegroom, 
with  his  attendants,  presented  himself  at  the 


58 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Y^f 


m 


V 


place  designated  for  the  performance  of  the 
ceremony,  where  he  was  met  by  the  bride, 
gorgeously  appareled,  and  her  maids.  Then, 
in  presence  of  her  father  or  guardian  and 
proper  witnesses,  the  pair  went  through  a 
formula  of  words  as  given  them  by  the  offi- 
ciating priest.  On  the  completion  of  this  part 
of  the  ceremony,  the  company  partook  of  a 
cake  made  of  flour,  salt,  and  water.  This  was 
the  original  "bride-cake."  After  night,  the 
bride,  accompanied  by  her  relatives  and  maids 
of  honor,  was  escorted  with  due  pomp  to  the 
residence  of  the  bridegroom,  the  door  of  which 
she  found  bound  with  strings,  over  which  she 
was  obliged  to  step.  Having  effected  an  en- 
trance, she  received  the  keys  of  the  house,  and 
the  bridegroom  and  herself  again  repeated, 
after  the  priest,  the  formula  which  had  been 
gone  over  earlier  in  the  day.  Then,  having 
touched  fire  and  water,  and  sacrificed  to  the 
domestic  gods,  which  were  placed  on  the  ta- 
ble, the  wedding  festivities    commenced,  and 


LATER  ESTIMATE  OF  WOMAN. 


59 


were  continued  till  midnight,  when  the  guests 
dispersed. 

In  India,  the  magnificence  of  the  marriage- 
feast  can  scarcely  be  imagined,  especially  when 
celebrated  by  torch-light  procession. 

In  almost  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  who 
had  any  marriage  ceremony  at  all,  a  woman's 
wedding-day  was  one  of  splendor  and  apparent 
honor,  the  only  day  in  which  any  of  her  wishes 
were  deferred  to  during  her  whole  lifetime. 
Light  was  soon  lost  in  darkness — anticipated 
pleasure  in  disappointment,  degradation,  and 
despair.  The  day  of  her  death  was  the  first 
day  of  her  freedom. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


: :? 


I^e  ^exe^  ^t{ttat  »i  ^^aailtttt* 


ROM  the  arguments  bi ought  forward 
by  the  advocates  of  woman's  inferi- 
ority, it  might  be  inferred  that  she 
was  designed,  from  the  very  dawn  of  creation, 
for  man's  servant,  not  for  his  companion  ;  and, 
indeed,  it  is  not  only  inferred  by  the  great 
mass  of  mankind,  but  broadly  asserted  to  be 
the  fact  by  very  many  who,  from  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  history  of  creation,  ought  to  know 
better. 

Those  who  have  striven  to  establish  this 
doctrine  have  contrived  to  bring  the  Scrip- 
tures to  their  aid  by  wresting  them   to  suit 

their  own  particular  view  of  the  question,  and 
60 


r 


I '  ii 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.    6 1 


in  this  manner  have  endeavored  to  silence  any 
controversy  respecting  their  dogma.  The  re- 
sult has  been — and  it  is  the  legitimate  result 
of  such  a  pernicious  course — that  this  wrest- 
ing of  the  Scriptures,  and  its  having  been 
allowed  for  a  length  of  time  to  go  unchal- 
lenged by  the  Christian  world,  has  produced 
scores  of  infidels,  who,  not  having  examined 
the  Word  of  God  r  ically  for  themselves, 
have  accepted  as  true  expositions  of  the  doc- 
trines contained  therein  the  statements  of 
men,  apparently  supported  by  isolated  texts, 
separated  from  their  contexts ;  and  thus,  having 
been  led  to  believe  that  the  Scriptures  sanc- 
tioned, if  they  did  not  enforce,  manifest  in- 
justice, they  have  repudiated  the  whole  as 
unworthv  of  belief  A  deplorable  conclusion, 
truly  i  Then,  though  responsible  for  this  in- 
fidelity through  their  perversion  of  Scripture, 
these  same  writers,  or  those  of  a  kindred  spirit, 
denounce  every  argument  or  movement  in 
favor   of  the   equal   rights   and   privileges  of 


62 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


women  as  evil,  and  only  evil,  and  necessarily 
evil,  because  among  the  advocates  of  measures 
according  these  rights  there  are  found  some 
men  and  women  who  are  skeptics. 

But  what  say  the  Scriptures  upon  the  sub- 
ject? In  the  history  of  the  creation,  there 
given,  we  search  in  vain  for  any  evidence  of 
the  Divine  appointment,  at  that  time,  of  mas- 
culine domination. 

"And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness:  and  let  them  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and 
over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping 
thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth. 

**  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male  and 
female  created  he  them. 

"And  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto 
them,  Be  Iruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth,  and  subdue  it ;  and  have  dominion 
over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         63 

the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that  mov- 
eth  upon  the  earth."* 

This  dominion  of  the  human  race  over  the 
inferior  creation  seems  to  have  been  the  only 
dominion  instituted  at  the  time  of  the  cre- 
ation ;  nor  is  there  any  indication  that  it  was 
to  be  confined  to  the  male  portion  of  the  race. 
As  between  the  human  pair,  there  is  not  here 
the  slightest  intimation  given  of  the  subjec- 
tion of  the  one  to  the  other.  The  Great  Infin- 
ite in  wisdom,  who  created  "  .hem,"  and  who 
could  not  be  mistaken  in  their  capacities,  ap- 
pears to  have  placed  *7//^;«"  on  a  perfect  equal- 
ity, committing  to  them  conjointly  the  domin- 
ion over  the  earth  and  all  that  it  contained. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis  we  find  a 
brief  recapitulation  of  the  events  narrated  in 
the  first,  the  sacred  historian  entering  more 
fully  into  the  creation  of  the  woman.  God, 
in  his  wisdom,  saw  that  Adarn  was  not  suffi- 
cient alone  to  sway  the  mighty  scepter  over 

♦Gc.i.  i,  26,  27,  28. 


64 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


m\ 


the  vast  domain  about  to  be  intrusted  to  him ; 
therefore  he  created  for  him  "an  helpmeet," 
and  gave  "f/iem"  a  joint  authority  over  the 
rest  of  creation.  'And  the  Lord  God  said, 
It  is  r  t  go(  J  tl),:>l  r.uan  should  oe  alone;  I 
will  make  hi. n  ^ -^  ht^ipmeet  for  him.  .  .  .  And 
the  Lord  God  caused  a  aaep  sleep  to  fall  upon 
Adam,  and  he  slept ;  and  he  took  one  of  his 
ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh  thereof;  and  the 
rib,  which  the  Lord  God  had  taken  from  the 
man,  made  he  a  woman,  and  brought  her  to 
the  man."* 

"This  implies,"  says  a  distinguished  com- 
mentator upon  Holy  Writ,  "that  the  woman 
was  a  perfect  resemblance  of  the  man,  pos- 
sessing neither  inferiority  nor  superiority,  but 
being  in  all  things  like  and  equal  to  himself." 

Thus  it  was  in  the  beginning.  But,  in 
process  of  time,  men,  glorying  in  the  phys- 
ical strength  in  which  they  excelled  women, 
refused    to    recognize   as    its    equivalent   the 

*Gen.  ii,  l8,  20,  21,  22. 


THE  SEXES  FnUAL  AT  CREATION. 


65 


peculiar  qualities  aiid  faculties  possessed  by  wo- 
rren  which  were  la  king  in  themselves.  And 
overlooking  the  importance  of  the  duties  which 
the  liiOthers  of  mankind  were  discharging,  they 
plumed  themselves  upon  their  own  prowess, 
and  concluded  that  women  and  all  else  were 
made  only  to  minister  to  their  pi  ■•sures. 
Reason  and  justice  were  obliged  to  «^uc  mb 
to  the  strong  arm,  and  women  v  "e  forced 
into  a  subordinate  position. 

If  the  Creator,  in  the  arrangements  of  his 
plans,  designed  that  women  should  be  inferior 
to  men  in  intellect  and  freedom  of  action, 
then,  in  regard  to  one-half  of  the  human  fam- 
ily, God  worked  by  the  law  of  retrogression, 
producing  Eve,  an  inferior,  from  Adam,  a 
superior  being;  which  is  clearly  contrary  to 
the  law  of  progression,  and  contrary  to  the 
general  plan  of  his  creation  ;  and,  if  this  be 
true,  the  laws  of  progression  and  retrogression 
were  to  alternate  perpetually.  Is  this  sup- 
position of  inferiority  in  the  case  of  woman 


1   i 


1 

It 


|!i. 
1  "  I 


,3   I       ,! 


4 


/ 


66 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


consistent  with  what  we  know  of  God's  method 
of  working,  as  given  in  the  history  of  the  cre- 
ation ?  Let  us  recapitulate  the  whole  briefly, 
and  see. 

I.  He  created  inanimate  matter.  2.  He 
brought  vegetable  life  into  existence.  3.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  waters  were  created.  4. 
"  The  cattle  after  their  kind."  Still  ascending, 
God  said :  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image, 
after  our  likeness.  So  God  created  man  in 
his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created 
he  him  ;  male  and  female  created  he  them.'* 
Here,  then,  we  see  that  God  created  man  from 
a  portion  of  inanimate  earth ;  but  that  he  pro- 
duced the  woman  from  a  perfect  portion  of  the 
perfect  man,  plainly  appears  from  the  twenty- 
first  and  twenty-second  verses  of  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis,  which,  though  quoted  re- 
cently, necessarily  come  in,  in  this  place. 
"And  the  Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to 
fall  upon  Adam,  and  he  slept ;  and  he  took 
one    of   his    ribs,   and    closed    up    the    flesh 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         6/ 

thereof;  and  the  rib,  which  the  Lord  God  had 
taken  from  the  man,  made  he  a  woman,  and 
brought  her  unto  the  man.  And  Adam  said. 
This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of 
my  flesh :  she  shall  be  called  woman,  because 
she  was  taken  out  of  man."* 

Prior  to  the  fall,  then,  it  is  quite  evident 
that  woman  was  equal  to  man  in  every  respect. 
Did  Eve,  then,  because  she  was  first  in  the 
transgression,  forfeit  her  right  of  equality  with 
Adam,  who  just  as  flagrantly  transgressed  the 
Divine  command  ;  or  was  the  penalty  inflicted 
in  consequence  of  her  disobedience  another 
matter  altogether  ? 

Genesis  iii,  i6,  is  usually  brought  forward 
to  prove  that,  if  woman  was  not  inferior  before 
the  fall,  she  became  so  absolutely  and  uncon- 
ditionally then.  A  disinterested  reader — could 
such  be  found — would  scarcely  so  render  it. 
"Unto   the   woman    he    said,   I   will    greatly 

*For  the  original  meaning  of  the  word  woman,  see  Dr. 
Clarke  on  Genesis  ii,  23. 


i 


68 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception  ;  in 
sorrow  thou  shalt  bring  forth  children,  and 
thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he 
shall  rule  over  thee."  Upon  the  latter  clause 
of  this  verse,  separating  it  from  all  connection 
with  the  former  part  of  the  sentence,  with 
which,  however,  it  is  connected  in  the  Sacred 
Word,  is  based  the  dogma  of  the  continued, 
unchangeable  curse  of  inferiority  of  all  the 
daughters  of  Eve,  and  their  obligation  to  serve 
and  implicitly  obey  their  husbands.  And  yet 
if  a  wife,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  her 
husband,  violates  the  law,  either  of  God  or 
man,  she  is  the  party  held  responsible.  If  she 
is  not  possessed  of  sufficient  mental  capacity 
to  judge  for  herself  in  all  things,  how  can  she 
know  when  she  should  obey  or  when  disobey.^ 
If  implicit  obedience  is  her  duty,  is  there  any 
justice,  then,  in  punishing  her  for  obeying  the 
order  of  him  whom  she  is  bound  to  obey.^ 
Those  who  construe  this  and  other  portions 
of  the  Word  of  God  to  suit  themselves,  would 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         69 

protest  loudly  enough  against  the  "  manifest 
injustice"  if  it  were  meted  out  to  them.  But 
we  know  there  is  no  unrighteousness  with 
God.  The  Bible  expressly  declares  that  "God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,"  and  that  "  his 
ways  are  true  and  righteous  altogether." 

If  then  we  examine  this  text  (Gen.  iii,  16) 
candidly,  even  taking  the  generally  accepted 
translation,  and  construe  it  with  the  same  fair- 
ness with  which  we  would  construe  a  sentence 
the  meaning  of  which  was  not  in  dispute,  the 
conclusion  arrived  at  would  be  very  different 
from  what  it  usually  is ;  and  it  would  be  ap- 
parent that  the  words,  "And  thy  desire  shall 
be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over 
thee,"  has  reference  to  the  subject  of  genera- 
tion, of  which  the  entire  passage  treats.  There 
are,  however,  some  commentators  who  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  the  words  "  and  he  shall 
rule  ovrr  thee,"  might  with  equal  propriety  be 
rendered,  "  He  shall  have  power  with  thee^ 
We  know  that  at  this  very  time  the  promise 


N     1 


ni 


70 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


of  the  Messiah — the  seed  that  was  to  bruise 
the  serpent's  head— was  given  to  the  woman. 
"  He,"  thy  husband,  "  shall  have  power  with 
thee,"  would  not  then  be  an  inappropriate 
termination  to  the  sentence  relating  to  genera- 
tion. Raschi,  a  celebrated  Hebrew  writer  and 
rabbi,  who  flourished  in  the  twelfth  century, 
supports  this  reading,  "He  shall  have  power 
with  thee  ;"  but  the  majority  of  commentators 
and  the  Talmud  are  against  such  a  rendering. 
It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  ho'wever,  that  the 
Talmud  is  not  the  Pentateuch,  and  that  learned 
and  sincerely  pious  commentators  have  dif- 
fered, and  do  so  still,  as  widely  as  the  poles, 
upon  passages  quite  as  easily  understood  as 
the  one  now  under  discussion.  There  is  no 
more  proof  in  this  verse  that  a  woman  is 
bound  to  serve  and  obey  her  husband,  in  the 
Ci.mmon  acceptation  of  the  term,  than  that  a 
man  is  obligated  to  serve  and  obey  his  wife, 
or  worship  her  with  his  body — whatever  that 
may  mean — as  he  solemnly  vows   to  do  in 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         yi 

certain  marriage  services.  The  endowment 
with  worldly  goods  and  the  worship  promised, 
were  perhaps  put  in  as  an  offset  to  the  pledge 
of  service  and  obedience.  Certainly  the  man's 
vow  to  worship  his  wife  is  no  more  inconsis- 
tent than  is  the  woman's  to  obey  implicitly ; 
and  her  obedience,  if  it  is  not  implicit,  is  not 
obedience  at  all,  but  is  merely  acceding  to 
the  wishes  of  her  husband  when  they  accord 
with  ner  own  judgment. 

Infidels,  in  seeking  to  disparage  the  Word 
of  God,  quote  this  passage  and  kindred  ones, 
atid,  accepting  the  commonly  received  idea  of 
their  meaning,  endeavor  to  subvert  the  faith 
of  the  masses.  With  those  who  do  not  care- 
full  '  examine  the  matter  for  themselves,  they 
often  succeed.  It  has  been  asserted,  too,  by 
those  who  would  wish  the  teachings  of  the 
Koran  to  take  precedence  over  those  of  the 
Bible,  that  the  position  accorded  to  women  by 
the  Mosaic  law  was  quite  as  degrading  as  that 

accorded  to  them  by  Mohammed  ;  but  a  careful 

6 


...^^lii 


I 

i 


U 


lis 


:» : 


r^' 


1:  4 


72 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


reading  of  the  Scripture  warrants  no  such 
conclusion.  Many  matters  are  spoken  of,  both 
in  the  law  and  the  prophets,  as  having  been 
practised  and  tolerated,  and  even  rules  given 
for  their  regulation,  which  were  by  no  means  of 
Divine  appointment.  This  distinction  should 
always  be  carefully  marked  in  regard  to  the 
sacred  text ;  and  in  addition  to  this  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  Word  of  God  is  not 
responsible  for  the  erroneous  opinions  of  man- 
kind. When  the  Almighty  placed  human  be- 
ings upon  the  earth,  he  created  one  man  and 
one  woman,  destining  them  to  be  the  progeni- 
tors of  the  entire  race,  thereby  indicating  that 
monogamy  was  of  Divine  appointment.  But 
original  purity  was  soon  departed  from  ;  law- 
less passion  was  allowed  to  mar  the  beautiful 
completeness  and  concord  of  the  marriage  rela- 
tion as  instituted  by  God  ;  and,  in  time,  many 
even  of  those  who  were  nominal  worshipers 
of  the  true  God,  fell  into  polygamy.  The 
true   idea   and   design   of   marriage,   and   the 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION. 


n 


rights  of  woman,  with  the  respect  due  to  her, 
was  lost  sight  of,  and  the  requirements  of  the 
Divine  law  set  at  nought.  Men  became  the 
slaves  of  their  own  lusts.  God  was  not  in  all 
their  thoughts.  Iniquity  prevailed  to  such  a 
frightful  extent  that  "it  repented  the  Lord 
that  he  had  made  man  upon  the  earth,  and  it 
grieved  him  at  his  heart."* 

At  this  time  of  general  apostasy,  Noah — 
and,  it  would  seem,  he  alone — was  seen  right- 
eous before  God.  Him,  therefore,  with  his 
family,  the  Almighty  preserved  in  the  ark, 
when  in  his  fierce  wrath  he  caused  the  deluge 
to  sweep  away  the  corrupt  inhabitants  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  they  had  polluted.  Not- 
withstanding the  wide-spread  corruption  of  the 
times,  it  does  not  appear  that  either  Noah  or 
his  sons  were  polygamists.  Certainly,  if  any 
one  of  them  had  been  such  prior  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  ark,  he  was  not  permitted  to  bring 
his  harem  into  it  for  protection  from  the  fearful 

*Gen.  vi,  6. 


K      i 


ICh 


i  I 


.,1 

4 

74 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Storm.  Only  "eight  persons,"  we  are  in- 
formed, were  preserved  alive ;  namely,  Noah 
and  his  wife,  with  his  three  sons  and  their 
wives.  Then,  at  what  may  be  termed  the 
second  starling-point  of  the  human  race,  there 
was  again  an  equal  number  of  men  and  women 
upon  the  earth  ;  clearly  pointing  out  that  the 
design  of  the  Almighty  in  this  matter  was  the 
marriage  cf  one  man  with  one  woman.  God 
made  no  provision  for  the  marriage  of  either 
man  or  woman  after  the  obtaining  of  a  divorce. 
It  might  have  been  supposed  that  so  fearful 
a  display  of  the  wrath  of  God  would  have 
made  a  lasting  impression  upon  the  descend- 
ants of  Noah  ;  but  as  is  the  case  with  perverse 
mankind  now,  so  it  was  then ;  the  lessons  of 
the  past  were  lost  upon  them.  No  very  great 
period  of  time  elapses  till  we  find  the  pos- 
terity of  this  good  man,  Noah,  impiously  and 
daringly  conceiving  the  idea  of  measuring 
strength  with  the  Almighty  by  attempting  to 
build  a  tower  so  high  that  it  could  not  possibly 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         75 


re  m- 
Noaii 
their 
d   the 
,  there 
vomen 
lat  the 
as  the 
God 
either 
ivorce. 
fearful 
1  have 
iscend- 
-rverse 
ons  of 
y  great 
e  pos- 
sly  and 
suring 
:ing  to 
ossibly 


be  overflowed  should  a  subsequent  deluge 
occur.  The  dispersion  of  mankind,  and  the 
consequent  division  into  tribes,  or  races,  was 
the  result  of  such  presumption.  The  desper- 
ately wicked  heart  of  man  began  to  devise 
new  mischiefs,  and  revive  old  ones.  Monog- 
amy, the  great  conservator  of  moral  purity, 
was  disregarded,  and  one  corruption  viler  than 
another  followed  in  rapid  succession.  Before 
the  calling  of  Abraham,  mankind,  as  a  whole, 
appear  to  have  lapsed,  if  not  into  absolute 
heathenism,  at  least  into  something  very  near 
it.  The  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true 
God  seems  to  have  been  retained  only  in  iso- 
lated families,  and  even  there  to  have  been 
but  partially  observed,  being  marred  r  ^  dis- 
honored by  human  inventions  and  .ubsti- 
tutions. 

That  Abraham  might  be  delivered  from 
the  pernicious  example  of  his  neigiibors,  and 
that  his  mind  might  be  prepared  for  the  re- 
ception of  the    grand    manifestations   of   the 


■i !  i 


frl 


J..; 


fflf 


76 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL* 


Divine  character  which  God  designed  to  im- 
part to  him,  he  was  commanded  to  break 
off  all  association  with  them ;  and,  the  more 
completely  to  effect  this,  he  was  desired  to 
leave  his  kindred  and  his  country,  and  become 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Yet  somewhat 
of  the  contamination  of  early  association 
seems  to  have  clung  both  to  him  and  Sarah, 
as  is  evidenced  in  the  matter  of  Hagar.  In 
something  very  like  doubt  of  God's  power  to 
fulfill  his  own  promise,  Abraham  yielded  to 
Sarah's  suggestion,  and  thus  was  partially 
drawn  into  the  evil  current,  though  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  willful  polygamist. 
It  is  asserted  by  Jonathan  Ben  Uzziel,  the 
Jerusalem  Targum,  and  other  learned  aruthori- 
ties,  that  Hagar  and  Keturah  aie  the  same 
person  ;  but  if  this  be  a  mistake^,  there  is  still 
no  evidence  that  Abraham  took  Keturah  till 
after  the  death  of  Sarah.  Polygamists,  both 
in  the  Jewish  nation  and  elsewhere,  have  not 
failed  to  plead  Abraham's  example  in  defense 


'I 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.        7/ 

of  their  conduct.  Early  association  had  some- 
what obscured  his  moral  perceptions  of  right 
and  wrong.  Had  he  waited  for  the  Divine 
command  before  carrying  out  Sarah's  sug- 
gestion,, no  incident  in  his  life  would  have 
given  countenance  to  the  demoralizing  prac- 
tice. Isaac  was  a  monogamist,  though  Jacob, 
through  the  artifice  of  Laban,  became  a  po- 
lygamist.  That  Laban's  family  were  tinctured 
with  idolatry  is  unquestionable ;  and  with 
idolatry  came  many  other  vices  When  Jacob 
with  his  household  took  his  departure  from 
Laban,  Rachel  stole  certain  images  which 
were  her  father's,  the  character  of  which  was 
unmistakably  indicated  by  Laban  when  he 
demanded,  "Wherefore  have  ye  stolen  my 
gods  ?"  Yet  such  was  the  general  apostasy 
of  the  times,  that  this  family  was  so  much  in 
advance  of  any  other,  that  it  was  to  it  that 
Abraham  was  obliged  to  send,  a  generation 
previous,  for  a  suitable  wife  for  the  amiable 
and    meditative    Isaac.      What    wonder   then 


n. 


•■■ti 


r, 

II 


II II  ii 


tj, 


78 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


that  many  practices  prevailed  among  the 
descendants  of  Jacob  that  were  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  either  the  will  or  the  word 
of  God ! 

Though  plurality  of  wives  was  customary 
both  before  and  after  the  giving  of  the  Law, 
it  was  by  no  means  ordained  by  it.  A  man 
had  no  more  right,  in  carrying  out  the  designs 
of  t:ie  Almighty,  to  have  two  or  more  wives 
living  at  the  same  time,  than  a  woman  had  to 
have  two  or  more  husbands  living  at  the  same 
time.  Wherever  the  Bible  speaks  of  the  duty 
of  husbands  to  wives,  or  oi  wives  to  husbands, 
the  nngular  form  is  invariably  used,  as  hus- 
band and  wife.  For  instance,  when  God 
brought  the  woman  he  had  made  to  Adam, 
he  (Adam)  says :  "  Therefore  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall 
cleave  to  his  wife  " — not  wives — "  and  they 
shall  be  one  flesh."  And  again,  "  They  twain 
shall  be  one  flesh."  What  God  has  directly 
commanded,  and  what  he  merely  suffers  men 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         79 

to  do  without  imposing  insuperable  restraints 
upon  them,  are  two  very  different  things. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  Mosaic  Law  makes 
a  very  great  and  decidedly  partial  distinc- 
tion between  men-servants  and  maid-servants, 
greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter,  par- 
ticularly in  their  release  from  servitude.  These 
same  texts — some  of  them,  at  least — have 
been  quoted  in  defense  of  African  slavery. 
The  term,  sc-llmg  a  Jewish  servant,  in  the 
Scripture,  is  simply  the  same  as  binding 
out  a  child  under  English  law.  A  Jewish 
lathei  could  only  "  sell,"  or  in  other  words 
bind  out,  his  daughter  for  six  years,  and  that 
before  she  was  of  a  suitable  age  to  be  mar- 
ried.* At  the  expiration  of  six  years  her 
apprenticeship  ceased,  and  the  maid-servant 
was  free,  unless  she  voluntarily  perpetuated 
her  own  servitude. 

There  were  two  classes  of  servants  among 
the  Jews.     The   first,  those  who  were  taken 

♦Clarke  on  Exodus  xxi,  7. 


8o 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


from  among  themselves ;  the  second,  those 
obtained  of  the  strange  nations  by  which 
they  were  surrounded,  or  who  were  taken 
captive  in  batile  This  second  class  of 
iiervants  were  called  bondmen  and  bond- 
women. The  former  class  were  denominated 
servants.  The  practice  authorized  by  law, 
regarding  those  who  were  the  lineal  descend- 
ants of  Abraham,  placed  men  and  women  in 
the  very  same  relation  to  the  master,  who  was 
bound  to  reward  them  alike  when  the  period 
of  service  should  terminate.  This  is  evident 
from  Deuteronomy  xv,  12-17:  "And  if  thy 
brother,  a  Hebrew  man,  or  a  Hebrew  woman, 
be  sold  unto  thee,  and  serve  thee  six  years  ; 
then  in  the  seventh  year  thou  shalt  let  him 
go  free  from  thee.  And  when  thou  sendest 
him  out  free  from  thee,  thou  shalt  not  let  him 
go  away  empty:  thou  shalt  furnish  him  lib- 
erally out  of  thy  flock,  and  out  of  thy  wine- 
press :  of  that  wherewith  the  Lord  thy  God 
hath  blessed   thee  thou  shalt  give  unto  him. 


ra 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.    8 1 


,  .  .  Ar.d  it  shall  be,  if  he  say  unto  thee, 
I  will  not  go  away  from  thee ;  because  he 
loveth  thee  and  thine  house,  because  he  is 
well  with  thee ;  then  thou  shalt  take  an  awl, 
and  thrust  it  through  his  ear  into  the  door, 
and  he  shall  be  thy  servant  forever.  And 
also  unto  thy  maid-servant  4hou  shalt  do 
likewise." 

Those  who  declare  that  the  law  of  Moses 
makes  a  distinction  in  the  matter  of  release 
from  servitude,  between  men-servants  and 
maid-servants,  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  lat- 
ter, in  confirmation  of  their  assertion  quote 
Exodus  xxi,  7 ;  but  if  they  read  also,  in  con- 
nection with  it,  the  eighth,  ninth,  tenth, 
and  eleventh  verses  of  the  same  chapter,  a 
careful  consideration  of  the  entire  passage 
will,  we  think,  clearly  show  that  the  reference 
therein  contained  is  not  to  the  ordinary  maid- 
servant, but  to  one  whose  master  had  be- 
trothed her  to  himself,  or  to  his  son.  In  the 
case  of  betrothal  to  himself,  if  the  girl  failed 


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WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


to  please  her  master,  he  was  not  to  return  her 
to  her  former  position  of  a  servant,  but  to  let 
her  be  redeemed.  He  must  not  sell  her,  or 
otherwise  dispose  of  her  services  during  the 
unexpired  period  of  her  servitude,  because 
"he  had  dealt  deceitfully  with  her."  In  case 
of  betrothal  to  his  son,  as  in  the  other,  she 
was  not  to  be  reduced  to  her  former  rank  as 
a  menial,  but  to  be  treated  in  every  respect 
as  a  daughter.  Even  when  the  affection  of 
the  man  to  whom  she  was  betrothed  waned, 
he  was  to  yield  to  her  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  which  belonged  to  her  as  his  wife ; 
and,  if  any  of  these  were  withheld,  she  was  at 
liberty  to  go  forth  a  free  woman. 

The  circumstance  of  Jacob  serving  Laban 
fourteen  years  for  Rachel,  is  by  some  deemed 
a  parallel  case  with  the  prevailing  custom  of 
purchasing  wives  among  the  people  of  the 
East ;  but  the  cases  are  not  at  all  similar. 
Jacob  and  Rachel  had  met  at  the  well  where 
she   usually  watered   her  father's  flock.     He 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         83 


rn  her 

to  let 

;! 

ler,  or 

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ecause 

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i 

2r,  she 

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ink  as 

espect 

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was  at 

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-1 

eemed 

cm  of 

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imilar. 

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where 

.     He 

■^ 

had  introduced  himself  to  the  maiden,  and 
won  her  regard,  before  he  proposed  to  her  fa- 
ther for  her,  having  spent  a  whole  month  in  the 
house  of  Laban  prior  to  his  doing  so.  There 
is  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt  that  he  had 
Rachel's  full  consent  to  the  arrangement.  It 
was  not  Jacob's  fault  that,  through  the  strat- 
agem of  Laban,  he  became  the  husband  of 
Leah.  The  plurality  of  wives  in  this  instance 
was  not  so  much  the  choice  of  Jacob  as  the 
fault  of  the  wily,  semi-idolatrous  Laban.' 

Shechem  offered  dowry  to  Jacob  and  his 
sons  if  they  would  consent  to  his  taking 
Dinah  to  wife ;  but  it  is  evident  he  did  so  in 
order  to  conciliate  the  outraged  brothers  of 
the  girl  whom  he  had  so  basely  humbled,  and 
whom  he  really  desired  to  retain. 

It  is  very  clear,  from  the  testimony  of 
sacred  history,  that  women,  in  the  families  of 
the  patriarchs,  and  in  the  Hebrew  nation 
generally,  for  several  generations  after  the 
delivery  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  occupied  a  position 


i 


h' 


,,i 


'W|f**" 


iii^ 


H  ;!  I 


1  !!  i 


i  ! 


84 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


very  much  superior  to  those  of  the  neighbor- 
ing nations.  A  woman  taken  captive  in  war, 
whom  a  Jew  chose  to  marry,  could  not  be 
sold  by  her  husband,  should  he  afterward  take 
a  dislike  to  her  so  great  that  he  might  put 
her  away.  Even  though  a  heathen,  she  was 
permitted  to  go  out  free. 

Boaz  is  said  to  have  bought  Ruth  when  he 
purchased  the  possession  of  Na6mi ;  and  this 
circumstance  is  referred  to  by  those  who 
would  bring  the  Bible  into  contempt,  to  prove 
that  Ruth  was  bought  according  to  Jewish 
law,  as  though  she  were  a  chattel.  The  facts, 
as  given  in  the  sacred  narrative,  do  not,  how- 
ever, warrant  any  such  interpretation. 

Elinielech,  with  his  wife  and  two  sons, 
Mahlon  and  Chilion,  left  Bethlehem-Judah  in 
consequence  of  a  severe  famine,  and  removed 
to  Moab.  At  the  time  of  their  emigration, 
they  were  obliged  to  leave  all  their  posses- 
sions, not  portable,  behind  them  ;  and  were 
in   consequence  in   straitened  circumstances. 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         8$ 


While  in  Moab,  both  his  sons  married  Moab- 
itish  women  ;  and,  in  process  of  time,  Elime- 
lech  and  his  sons  all  three  died,  leaving  their 
respective  widows  destitute.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  famine  being  now  over  in 
Judah,  Naomi  determined  to  return  thither, 
and  advised  her  daughters-in-law  to  return 
each  to  the  house  of  her  father.  After  some, 
persuasion,  the  widow  of  Chilion  did  so ;  but 
Ruth,  Mahlon's  widow,  expressed  her  deter- 
mination to  cling  to  the  fortunes  of  her 
mother-in-law  in  the  following  touching  strain : 

"  Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  or  to  return 
from  following  after  thee ;  for  whither  thou 
goest  I  will  go,  and  where  thou  lodgest  I  will 
lodge ;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and 
thy  God  my  God  ;  where  thou  diest  will  I 
die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried." 

Naomi,  having  such  proof  of  her  attachment 
to  her,  expostulated  with  her  no  further ;  and, 
disconsolate  and  weary,  the  poor  women  made 
their  way  to  Naomi's  old  home.     During  the 


86 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


•1 


r 


!        'I 


ff 


II 


absence  of  the  family,  the  parcel  of  land  which 
had  been  possessed  by  Elimelech  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  strangers.  Naomi  naturally 
desired  that  it  might  be  redeemed,  as  both 
herself  and  Ruth  would  be  greatly  benefited 
if  it  were.  Boaz,  though  not  the  nearest 
kinsman,  on  being  made  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  by  Ruth,  generously 
took  up  the  cause ;  and  the  nearest  of  kin 
having  relinquished  his  claim,  he  redeemed 
the  property  with  it ;  and,  with  Ruth's  own 
free  consent,  took  her  to  be  his  wife.  Her 
individual  concurrence  is  apparent  throughout 
the  whole  transaction.  No  one  had  any  right 
to  sell  at  all,  or  otherwise  to  dispose  of  her, 
except  by  her  own  wish. 

The  rape  of  the  Benjamites  is  sometimes 
referred  to  in  terms  expressive  of  the  desire 
to  cast  opprobium  upon  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible.  Unfortunate  as  was  the  condition  of 
the  Benjamites  on  this  occasion,  they  had 
no  more  sanction  for  what  they  did  from  the 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         8/ 

law  of  Moses,  than  had  Ahab  for  destroying 
the  prophets  of  the  Lord.  Neither  wao  the 
order  of  the  Jewish  elders  foR  the  massacre 
of  men  and  elderly  women,  and  the  saving  of 
the  four  hundred  young  women  to  make  up 
the  deficiency  of  wives  still  existing  in  this 
tribe,  in  any  sense  chargeable  to  the  Divine 
law. 

We  might  with  as  much  propriety  hold  the 
Gospel  responsible  for  the  Massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  as  to  hold  the  law  of  Moses 
responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Israelites.  The 
Mosaic  precepts  concerning  adultery  and  di- 
vorce might  at  first  sight  appear  to  give  more 
latitude  to  men  than  to  women,  and  therefore 
to  be  partial ;  but  when  we  accept  the  inter- 
pretation given  by  our  Lord,  the  apparent 
partiality  vanishes.  The  Savior's  testimony 
on  the  subject  is  very  explicit.  Matthew  xix, 
3-10,  we  read :  "  The  Pharisees  also  came  to 
him,  tempting  him,  Jind  saying  unto  him.  Is 
it  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife  for 


SB 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I :; ! 


every  cause  ?  And  he  answered  and  said  unto 
tihem,  Have  ye  not  read,  that  he  which  made 
them  at  the  beginning  made  them  male  and 
female,  and  said.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave 
to  bis  wife:  and  they  twain  shall  be  one 
flesh?  Wherefore  they  are  no  more  twain, 
but  one  flesh.  What  therefore  God  hath 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder. 
They  say  unto  him.  Why  did  Moses  then 
command  to  give  a  writing  of  divorcement, 
and  to  put  her  away?  He  saith  unto  them, 
Moses  because  of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts 
suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives :  but 
from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so.  And  I 
say  unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  except  it  be  for  fornication,  and  shall 
marry  another,  committeth  adultery:  and 
whoso  marrieth  her  which  is  put  away  doth 
commit  adultery." 

That  in  this  matter  oi  divorce  Christ  rec- 
ognized the  right  of  women  to  be  equal  to 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.  89 

that  of  men,  is  apparent  from  Mark  x,  2-12, 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  verses  of  which  we 
here  quote : 

"And  he  saith  unto  them,  Whosoever  shall 
put  away  his  wife  and  marry  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery  against  her.  And  if  a  woman 
shall  put  away  her  husband,  and  be  married 
to  another,  she  committeth  adultery."  It  is 
manifest  that  the  design  of  God  was,  that  there 
should  be  an  equal  fidelity  on  the  part  of 
both  man  and  wife. 

But,  as  ages  rolled  on,  the  depraved  appetites 
of  sinful  mankind  desired  a  different  ordering 
of  the  affairs  of  life.  In  the  Jewish  Common- 
wealth, the  rabbis  became  less  and  less  favor- 
able to  the  just  rights  of  women,  especially 
after  their  people  began  to  intermix  more 
freely  with  their  idolatrous  neighbors;  their 
precepts  were  assimilated  more  fully  to  those 
of  the  heathen;  and  for  doctrines,  the  com- 
mandments of  men  were  taught  instead  of  the 
pure  law  of  God. 


90 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I 


ili'l 


: 


!    1 


History  proves  that  woman  sometimes  took 
a  very  prominent  part  in  the  public  affairs  of 
the  Jewish  nation.  But,  while  not  attempting 
to  disprove  the  statements  which  are  therein 
recorded,  there  are  many  who  make  light  of 
any  mention  of  the  public  labors  of  these 
women.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  talents  and 
usefulness  of  these  women,  and  of  the  earnest 
women  of  our  own  day,  are  admitted  after  a 
fashion;  but  it  is  done  in  such  a  way  as,  in 
reality,  to  belittle  the  sex  as  much  as  possible. 
They  are  considered  as  occupying  the  same 
relation  to  men  that  the  moon  does  to  the 
sun,  and  all  that  is  desired  of  them  is  to  re- 
flect a  borrowed  light.  If  she  be  unable  to 
reflect  a  light  when  there  is  none  to  borrow, 
what  then  ?  Even  in  religious  matters,  she  is 
judged  to  be  incapable  of  taking  any  public 
part,  though  she  may  be  ever  so  well  informed 
and  pious,  and  those  of  the  opposite  sex  in 
her  vicinity  ever  so  deplorably  ignorant  and 
wicked.     A   few   distinguished   writers  will, 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         9I 

however,  allow  her — as  a  favor,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed— to  go  out  in  public  to  collect  money 
for  charitable  or  Church  purposes.  What  a 
wonder  the  funds  so  collected  are  not  defiled 
by  passing  through  "female"  fingers!  Some 
of  the  religious  denominations  who  gladly 
accept  of  the  fruit  of  women's  labor,  either  in 
collecting  from  others  or  in  giving  themselves, 
would  yet  not  suffer  a  woman  to  pray  or  speak 
in  public,  though  God  has  endowed  her  with 
more  than  ordinary  talent.  She  may  not  even 
give  advice  as  to  how  the  money  she  has  col- 
lected or  given  is  to  be  expended.  In  the 
choir,  women  may  sing  of  salvation ;  but  it  is 
fearful  presumption  for  her  to  speak  of  it  in 
the  body  of  the  Church,  or  let  her  voice  be 
heard  there  imploring  salvation  for  herself  or 
others.  This  might  defile  the  sanctuary  or 
tempt  her  to  "  usurp  authority  over  the  man." 
Occasionally  there  is  to  be  found  a  denomi- 
nation which  will  allow  a  woman  to  pray  in 
public,  or  to  relate  her  Christian  experience; 


"liiill 


92 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


ii  ! 


Ilsh; 


but  even  in  some  of  these  the  practice  does 
not  receive  a  very  large  amount  of  encourage- 
ment,  and  her  right  to  exhort  or  teach  pub- 
licly is  seriously  questioned,  most  frequently 
denied. 

What  was  Scripture  usage  ?  From  Exodus 
XV,  20,  we  learn  that  Miriam  was  a  prophetess, 
and,  in  the  verse  following,  it  appears  that 
not  only  she,  but  the  women  of  her  company, 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  celebration  of 
Israel's  triumphant  passage  of  the  Red  Sea. 
Not  only  was  Miriam  a  prophetess,  but  a  joint 
leader  with  Moses  and  Aaron  of  that  great 
host  which  went  up  to  possess  the  promised 
land,  as  is  seen  by  reference  to  Micah  vi,  4: 
**  For  I  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  redeemed  thee  out  of  the  land  of 
servants,  and  I  sent  before  thee  Moses,  Aaron, 
and  Miriam."  Thus  did  God,  in  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  Jewish  Church  and  nation, 
associate  a  woman  with  men,  giving  her  an 
equally  responsible  position  with  her  brothers. 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         93 

Moses  was  the  lawgiver,  Aaron  the  priest,  and 
Miriam  the  seer.  This  threefold  office  was 
fulfilled  in  Christ ;  and  therefore  Miriam,  as 
well  as  Moses  and  Aaron,  was  a  type  of  the 
Messiah. 

If  the  Almighty  had  not  designed  womci 
to  occupy  prominent  positions,  both  civilly 
and  ecclesiastically,  he  certainly  would  not 
have  qualified  them  to  fill  such  places  with 
honor ;  and  history  proves  that  he  did  both 
qualify  and  employ  them.  Deborah  was  both 
a  prophetess  and  a  judge,  and  at  one  time 
was  the  chief  ruler  in  Israel,  even  leading  on 
the  hosts  of  the  living  God ;  for  timorous 
Barak  would  not  go  without  her.  Huldah, 
wife  of  Shallum,  a  prophetess  who  flourished 
in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  was  consulted  by  him 
on  matters  of  vital  importance  to  his  kingdom, 
although  both  Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah  'vere 
then  alive.  Josiah  evidently  considered  her 
fully  equal  to  either  of  them,  or  he  would  not 
have  consulted  her,  or  at   her  dictation   set 


:;;  I 


,j  iii 


ii 


i  I 


94 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


about  reforming  the  abuses  which  were  prev- 
alent at  the  time.  He  could  not  have  set  to 
work  more  earnestly  in  this  good  cause  if 
Jeremiah  had  spoken  to  him.  There  have 
been  learned  men — and  there  are  those  still — 
who  think  it  exceedingly  strange  that  Josiah 
should  have  condescended  to  send  the  mes- 
sengers to  Huldah  to  inquire  of  the  Lord, 
when  he  might  have  consulted  either  Jere- 
miah or  one  of  the  brother  prophets.  Is  it 
not  equally  strange  that  the  Lord  should 
have  answered  him  by  her  mouth }  or  rather 
should  not  his  having  done  so,  forever  silence 
such  questioning.^ 

Other  women  have  been  emphatically  the 
"called,"  according  to  "God's  purpose,"  to 
combat  evil  in  countries  even  where  women 
were  treated  with  greater  indignities  than  in 
Israel.  We  do  not  make  ar^y  distinction  be- 
tween prophets  and  prophetesses.  Men  and 
women  were  alike  called  to  the  prophetic 
ofRce,  as  God  pleased,  and  kings  and  princes 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         95 

acknowledged  their  authority.  Many  women 
became  noted  for  their  active  service  rendered 
to  the  Jewish  Church  and  nation. 

Women  have  proved  themselves  to  be  skill- 
ful diplomatists,  and  to  be  possessed  of  an 
equal  amount  of  courage  and  perseverance 
with  men ;  but  these  capabilities  have  not  al- 
ways been  employed  aright.  There  have  been 
distinguished  statesmen  who  have  been  fright- 
fully wicked  men ;  and,  unhappily,  there  have 
been  clever  women  who  have  been  fully  their 
equals  in  wickedness.  In  nothing  is  the  men- 
tal equality  of  women  with  men  more  clearly 
indicated  than  in  the  manner  in  which  both 
pursue  a  career  of  sin. 

Jezebel  appears  to  have  been  a  stronger- 
minded  person  than  Ahab,  and  to  have  ex- 
celled him  in  subtlety  and  wickedness.  She 
was  as  active  as  he  in  pushing  the  persecution 
against  the  people  of  God  ;  indeed,  more  active 
and  determined  than  her  weak  and  wicked 
husband.    At  the  time  the  life  of  Elijah  was 


96 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I'i 


mil 


; 


i! 


Ij  fiiiiiiiii 


:  ;;  iihii 


threatened,  she  would  seem  not  only  to  have 
been  the  more  determined  of  the  two,  but  to 
have  exercised  greater  authority  over  the 
realm.  Athaliah,  the  daughter  of  Jezebel,  was 
no  whit  behind  her  mother  in  atrocious  wick- 
edness. Indeed,  where  women  are  brought 
up  in  wickedness,  they  differ  nothing  in  the 
depth  of  their  depravity  from  men  educated 
in  like  manner. 

The  more  frequently  the  Hebrews  relapsed 
into  idolatry,  the  less  inclined  were  they  to 
allow  women  their  legitimate  privileges.  The 
administrators  of  the  laws  constantly  curtailed 
female  liberty,  tenaciously  exacting  from  them 
the  service  and  obedience  of  slaves.  A  wo- 
man, even  among  the  Jews,  must  have  had 
no  small  amount  of  both  courage  and  wisdom, 
to  have  surmounted  the  difficulties  which 
hedged  up  the  path  to  fame  and  honor,  and 
risen  to  the  distinction  which  some  of  them 
reached.  "  The  rabbins  " — not  Moses — "taught 
that  a  woman  should  know  nothing  but  the 


THE  SEXES  EQUAL  AT  CREATION.         97 

use  of  her  distaff."  Their  idea  of  the  educa- 
tion fitting  for  a  woman  was,  that  she  should 
understand  merely  how  to  manage  the  work 
of  a  house ;  in  other  words,  know  nothing  but 
how  to  minister  to  the  appetites  or  whims  of 
her  husband,  regarding  him  as  her  lord,  her 
irresponsible  master.  Rabbi  Eliezer  said,  "Let 
the  words  of  the  law  be  burned  rather  than 
that  they  should  be  delivered  to  a  woman." 
Why,  we  wonder?  Because  they  might,  if 
they  read  it,  learn  what  privileges  it  accorded 
them,  and  perhaps  claim  them — a  state  of 
things  to  be  prevented  by  any  means,  no 
matter  how  unscrupulous. 

Notwithstanding  the  teachings  of  the  rab- 
bins, however,  and  dark  as  was  the  day  just 
prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  we  find 
a  woman  who  was  prophesying  ii>  the  temple 
even  then.  The  prediction  of  Anna  the  proph- 
etess is  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament 
without  a  word  of  censure  on  the  unwomanli- 
ness  of  her  conduct,  or  her  profanation  of  the 


Hi? 

!M1 


I  1 


II  ; 


I  I 


'11 


I  if 
J; 


:iii 


'i   t 


!!i 


i':\ 


IK 


filii  j 

hi; 


98 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


temple  by  it.  Modern  writers  would  perhaps 
have  been  wiser,  and  treated  her  with  what 
they  considered  deserved  contempt. 


CHAPTER  V. 

N  this  enlightened  age,  the  sentiment 
of  the  Rabbi  Eliezer,  that  the  law 
should  be  burned  rather  than  deliv- 
ered  to  women,  would  be  execrated  by  the 
right-minded  of  every  Christian  country.  But 
was  such  a  sentiment  any  farther  from  right, 
either  in  theory  or  practice,  than  are  those 
held  and  openly  avowed  by  some  of  the  advo- 
cates of  the  theory  of  the  inferiority  of  women  ; 
who,  while  asserting  that  these  inferior  crea- 
tures are,  by  the  constitution  of  their  minds, 
incapable  of  comprehending  the  meaning  of  a 
law,  yet  hold  them  equally  accountable  with 

men — who  are   supposed  to   understand  all 

99 


I  i: 


i  il: 


t  J 


■  il 


!(i 


l)  li 


3  I 


!! 


■5M 


100 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


about  it — for  any  violation  of  that  law?  If, 
indeed,  there  is  any  difference  made  in  the 
punishment  of  delinquents,  the  greater  severity 
is  most  frequently  meted  out  to  the  woman. 

Those  who  insist  on  the  absolute,  unquali- 
fied subjection  of  women  to  the  opposite  sex, 
and  place  them  in  a  subordinate  place  in  the 
Christian  Church,  persistently  quotje  the  writ- 
ings of  St.  Paul  as  authority  for  the  position 
which  they  take.  We  apprehenc'  that  the 
great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  is  as  wrongfully 
misapprehended  and  misrepresented  by  certain 
classes  of  believers  now,  as  he  was  by  the 
Jews  at  the  memorable  time  when  he  was 
brought  before  Felix.  Paul,  therefore,  must 
"  answer  for  himself  in  the  things  whereof  he 
is  accused." 

In  I  Cor.  xi,  3-5,  he  says  to  the  Church  at 
Corinth  :  "  But  I  would  have  you  know  that 
the  head  of  every  man  is  Christ ;  and  the 
head  of  the  woman  is  the  man ;  and  the  head 
of   Christ   is   God.     Every  man   praying   or 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS.- 


lOI 


prophesying,  having  his  head  covered,  dishon- 
oreth  his  head.  But  every  woman  that  pray- 
eth  or  prophesieth  with  her  head  uncovered, 
dishonoreth  her  head."  Here  is  a  positive 
direction  given  to  a  womaUy  as  to  the  manner 
of  her  procedure  when  she  either  prayed  or 
prophesied  in  public,  and  not  a  prohibition 
of  either  act,  as  we  might  expect  from  the 
rendering  given  by  many  divines. 

Christ  is  the  head  of  the  man,  because  he  is 
the  first-born  from  the  dead — the  Redeemer  of 
mankind — and  because  "he  was  before  all 
things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist."  Hav- 
ing made  provision  for  the  life  of  the  world, 
he  is  therefore  entitled  to  the  love,  devotion, 
and  fidelity  of  man.  Christ  is  also  mentioned 
under  the  figure  of  the  vine,  of  which  hi  a 
people  are  the  branches. 

Man  is  the  head  of  the  woman,  because  he 
was  before  her ;  and  because,  being  physically 
stronger,  he  has  been  constituted  her  protector. 
A  man,  therefore,  is  to  love  his  wife  ever  as 


!  I 


' 


102 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


himself,  with  an  unselfish  intensity,  only  to 
be  compared  with  the  love  which  Christ  bears 
to  his  Church ;  and  the  wife  is  bound  by 
the  same  sacred  law  to  be,  in  heart  and 
practice,  undeviating  in  her  love  and  fidelity 
to  her  husband. 

"And  the  head  of  Christ  is  God."  Is  Christ 
therefore  not  equal  with  God  ?  Is  there  supe- 
riority  and  inferiority  between  the  Father  and 
the  Son  ?  If  because  the  apostle  declares  that 
the  man  is  the  head  of  the  woman,  the  propo- 
sition is  to  be  taken  for  granted  that,  in  con- 
sequence, she  is  not  his  equal  but  an  inferior, 
we  may,  with  equal  propriety  and  fairness, 
quote  the  same  text  to  prove,  and  prove  as 
conclusively,  that  the  Son  is  not  equal  with, 
but  is  inferior  to,  the  Father.  God  may  be 
understood  to  be  the  head  of  Christ  in  regard 
to  his  manhood,  and  that  only.  The  Scrip- 
tures amply  testify  that  he  is  not  only  co- 
eternal  with  the  Father,  but  coequal  with 
him  as  well.    There  is  neither  inferiority  nor 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


103 


superiority  in  the  Divine  nature  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son;  and  so  also,  since  man 
and  woman  are  derived  from  one  nature,  being 
both  human,  there  is  neither  superiority  nor 
inferiority  between  them.  They  are  coequal. 
Is  there,  then,  no  distinction  made  between 
the  sexes  in  the  text?  Certainly  there  is. 
Men  were  directed  to  remove  their  caps  or  tur- 
bans when  they  prayed  or  prophesied  in  public, 
while  women,  on  the  contrary,  were  to  re- 
main with  their  heads  covered ;  that  is,  to 
keep  veiled  when  they  prayed  or  prophesied  in 
public.  The  latter,  it  is  evident,  was  simply  a 
prudential  or  local  arrangement.  Throughout 
the  East,  and  more  especially  in  heathen 
countries,  it  was  the  custom  for  women  to  be 
veiled  when  they  made  their  appearance  in 
public ;  but  immodest  women  not  unfrequently 
violated  the  usage,  appearing  in  public  un- 
veiled. In  the  state  of  society  then  in  Cor- 
inth, for  a  Christian  woman  to  have  appeared 

in  public,  or  to  have  taken  any  prominent  part 

8 


!   ... 


■i\i 


It 


i 


'M-'i: 


if 

If 


104 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


in  an  assembly  with  her  head  uncovered,  would 
have  placed  her  in  a  false  position  before  un- 
believers, both  Jews  and  Gentiles.  That  their 
liberty  under  the  Gospel,  then,  might  not  be 
made  occasion  of  offense  by  gainsayers,  against 
the  cause  of  Christ,  that  their  good  should 
not  be  evil  spoken  of  by  the  profane  multitude, 
the  apostle  counseled  them  to  submit  to  the 
usages  and  restraints  which  the  customs  of 
the  times  and  place  imposed  on  women,  wher- 
ever the  usages  or  restraints  so  imposed  were 
not  in  themselves  sinful.  In  the  same  spirit 
he  returned  Onesimus  to  his  master ;  not  that 
he  thereby  gave  his  sanction  to  slavery,  but  in 
this,  as  other  directions  regarding  civil  affairs, 
advising  submission  to  the  existing  state  of 
things,  "  that  the  Gospel  be  not  blamed." 
The  effecting  of  civil  or  political  reforms,  how- 
ever much  they  might  be  needed,  was  not  the 
immediate  object  of  Paul's  preaching  or  writ- 
ing. His  grand,  all-absorbing  business  was  to 
proclaim  the  Gospel  in  all  its  fullness,  trusting 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


105 


to  its  benign  influence  to  right  every  wrong. 
There  is  no  doubt  Paul  clearly  understood  and 
did  not  intend  to  controvert  the  declaration  of 
the  prophet  Joel  (ii,  28),  which  was  quoted  by 
Peter  as  being  one  evidence  of  the  ushering  in 
of  the  Christian  dispensation  (Acts  ii,  17,  18) : 
"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all 
flesh :  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters 
shall  prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall  see 
visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams. 
And  on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens 
I  will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  my  spirit,  and 
they  shall  prophesy."  "The  last  days"  evi- 
dently means  the  Gospel  dispensation ;  and  this 
text  alone,  twice  given  by  inspiration,  even  if 
there  were  no  other,  would  establish  the  right 
of  women  to  all  the  immunities  and  ordinances 
of  the  Christian  Church. 

I  Cor.  xiv,  34,  35,  is  always  presented  by 
the  opponents  of  women's  privileges  as  posi- 
tive proof  that  women  should  not  take  a  public 


io6 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


n 


I  .    ! 


part  in  religious  worship :  "  Let  your  women 
keep  silence  in  the  churches,  for  it  is  not 
permitted  unto  them  to  speak ;  but  they  are 
commanded  to  be  under  obedience,  as  also 
saith  the  law.  And  if  they  will  learn  any 
thing,  let  them  ask  their  husbands  at  home, 
for  it  is  a  shame  for  a  woman  to  speak  in 
the  Church." 

In  the  passage  first  qubted  in  this  chapter. 
Paul  gives  explicit  directions  for  the  manner 
in  which  women  should  be  arrayed  while 
speaking  in  the  Church.  Since,  then,  there 
can  be  no  contradiction  in  the  Word  of  God, 
and  we  have  positive  proof  that  women  did 
speak  in  public  assemblies  by  permission  of 
the  apostles,  nothing  remains  but  to  reconcile 
the  two  texts  so  apparently  contradictory, 'by 
ascertaining  to  what  kind  of  a  public  assembly 
the  apostle  had  reference  in  the  text  last 
quoted.  By  reference  to  the  verses  preceding 
this  text  in  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  First 
Corinthians,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  apostle  is 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


107 


pointing  out  the  impropriety  and  unprofitable- 
ness of  speaking  in  unknown  tongues ;  and  of 
the  contention  and  disorder  that  then  existed 
at  Corinth.  False  teachers  had  caused  dis- 
sension and  tumults  in  the  Church  ;  and,  be- 
sides, the  whole  system  of  Christianity  was 
violently  assailed  by  both  the  Jews  and  the 
pagans.  The  disciples  at  Corinth  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  controversy.  According  to 
Eastern  ideas,  it  was  an  outrage  upon  propriety 
and  decency,  not  only  for  a  woman  to  take 
part  by  publicly  asking  questions,  or  teaching 
in  any  such  disorderly  assembly,  but  even  for 
her  to  be  present  therein.  To  avoid  the  very 
appearance  of  evil,  they  were  to  absent  them- 
selves from  these  contentious  meetings  because 
it  was  a  shame  for  a  woman  to  speak  or  con- 
tend in  such  riotous  assemblies.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  Christian  women  had  done 
so  prior  to  this  ;  and  therefore  Paul  warns  them 
against  such  improprieties  ;  not,  however,  for- 
bidding them  to  pray  or  prophesy  in  the  Church, 


io8 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


! 


H  'Hiiii 


I  m 


providing  they  "covered  their  heads."  The 
Gospel  proclaims  an  equal  freedom  to  all ;  Paul 
earnestly  asserting  (Gal.  iii,  28),  that  "  there  is 
neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond 
nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ;  for 
ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  Neverthe- 
less, lest  the  cause  of  God  should  be  hindered 
by  women  asserting  their  Christian  liberty, 
by  speech  or  action,  he  desired  them  to  com- 
ply with  the  common  usages  of  the  society 
in  which  they  lived,  where  those  usages  were 
not  in  themselves  immoral  or  contrary  to  the 
Word  of  God.  Kindred  to  i  Cor.  xiv,  34,  35, 
and  referring  to  the  same  thing,  is  i  Tim.  ii, 
II,  12 :  "  Let  the  women  learn  in  silence  with 
all  subjection.  But  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to 
teach,  nor  usurp  authority  over  the  man,  but  to 
be  in  silence."  For  a  woman  to  attempt  any 
thing  either  in  public  or  private  that  man 
claimed  as  his  peculiar  function,  was  strictly 
prohibited  by  Roman  law ;  and  Christian 
women,  as  well  as  men,  were  to  be  submissive 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


109 


to  the  "powers  that  be."  Those  who  con- 
tend, from  their  rendering  of  these  texts,  that 
women  are  prohibited  by  them  from  taking 
part  in  the  public  worship  of  God,  to  be  con- 
sistent, should  also  insist  that  they  must  not 
enter  the  house  of  God  at  all ;  because  they 
are  as  strictly  charged  by  Paul  to  remain  at 
home  and  learn  in  silence  from  their  husbands, 
as  to  refrain  from  speaking. 

Now,  if  women  are  to  be  silent  in  the 
Church ;  that  is,  if  they  are  neither  to  pray, 
speak,  nor  sing  in  public — for  singing  is  cer- 
tainly one  method  of  conveying  instruction 
to  those  who  hear,  and  is  therefore  teaching 
them  how  to  ascribe  praise  to  God — if  they 
are,  upon  Scriptural  authority,  to  know  nothing 
but  what  they  may  learn  from  their  husbands 
at  home, — then  our  whole  system  of  civilized 
education  with  regard  to  women  is  out  of 
place  ;  we  had  better  borrow  a  leaf  from  the 
Turks  or  Chinese.  Girls  here  are  sent  to 
school,  and  encouraged  to  exert  their  mental 


no 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I 


energies  to  the  utmost  in  acquiring  knowl- 
edge. Both  mothers  and  daughters  are  taken 
to  church,  and  if  they  have  tuneful  voices 
they  are  expected  to  sing ;  all  of  which  is 
manifestly  improper  and  unchristian,  if  women 
are  to  receive  all  religious  instruction  from 
their  "husbands  at  home"  only,  and  in  silence. 
The  taking  of  women  to  church, .or  indeed 
out  of  the  house,  therefore,  is  exposing  them 
to  the  temptation  of  hearing  and  receiving 
instruction  from  unauthorized  lips ;  for — fear- 
fully depraved  though  it  may  be  in  the  sight 
of  some — women  are  quite  as  prone  as  men 
to  listen  to  what  is  told  them  and  to  remem- 
ber v/hat  they  hear,  and — worse  still — to 
reason'  out  difficult  problems  for  themselves. 
And  what  is  to  be  done  for  widows,  or 
poor  women  who  have  never  been  blessed 
with  husbands  ?  Are  they  to  go  down  to 
death  in  heathenish  darkness,  because  the 
genial  light  of  a  husband's  countenance  has 
ceased  to  shine  upon  them,  or,  perhaps,  has 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


Ill 


never  done  so  ?  Must  unmarried  women  for- 
ever continue  in  ignorance  of  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  Christ,  because  they  have  no  hus- 
bands to  teach  them  ?  As  girls,  according 
to  such  a  rendering,  they  ought  not  to  have 
learned  any  thing ;  for  a  father*s*teaching — if 
it  were  proper  for  him  to  give  it — and  a  hus- 
band's might  differ  widely.  Besides,  what  is 
to  be  done  for  those  women  who  are  blessed 
with  husbands  incapable  of  teaching  them ; 
or,  as  is  notoriously  so  frequently  the  case, 
who  choose  rather  to  spend  their  time  in 
places  of  disreputable  character  than  at  their 
homes  with  their  families ! 

Such  a  rendering  of  these  texts  as  is  fre- 
quently given,  and  the  homilies  derived  there- 
from, are  an  outrage  upon  common  sense. 
They  are  at  variance  with  the  direct  teachings 
of  St.  Paul,  and  contrary  to  what  the  Scrip- 
tures prove  to  have  been  his  practice.  Surely, 
none  will  dare  to  accuse  the  apostle  of  incon- 
sistency ;  and  yet  we  have  his  own  testimony 


{■\-. 


^ 


112 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


fil    ! 


•P 


that  Phoebe  was  a  "  servant  of  the  Church  at 
Cenchrea ;"  that  is,  she  was  a  deaconess, 
having  a  charge  at  Cenchrea.  Priscilla,  quite 
as  much  as  Aquila,  was  Paul's  helper  in 
"Christ  Jesus,"  acknowledged  by  him  as  such. 
Priscilla  was  associated  with  Aquila  in  "ex- 
pounding the  way  of  God  more  perfectly  to 
Apollos."  (Acts  xvii,  62.)  Strange^  that  the 
great  Apollos  should  receive  religious  instruc- 
tion from  a  woman ;  stranger  still,  if  it  were 
contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  that  she  was  per- 
mitted to  give  it !  Why  was  she  not  severely 
rebuked  for  her  presumption,  and  put  in  her 
place,  and  taught  to  keep  silence,  as  becometh 
a  woman  ?  On  the  contrary,  creditable  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  fact  that  she  did  instruct 
him,  and  that  through  that  instruction  he  was 
made  useful  to  the  world  ;  and  all  this  upon 
the  authority  of  inspiration,  without  one  word 
of  censure  as  to  her  unwomanliness.  Over  and 
over  again,  Paul  names  her  in  his  salutations. 
In   Philippians   iv,  3,  he  entreats   help  for 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


113 


certain  women,  counting  them  as  fellow- labor- 
ers. "  Help,"  sa^  s  he,  "  those  women  which 
labored  with  me  in  the  Gospel."  Honorable 
mention,  too,  is  made  by  name  of  Tryphena, 
Tryphosa,  and  of  the  beloved  Persis,  who  "la- 
bored much  in  the  Lord."  Philip  had  four 
daughters  which  "did  prophesy"  (Acts  xxi, 
19) ;  and  we  nowhere  hear  of  their  being  for- 
bidden to  do  so.  If  Paul,  influenced  as  he  was 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  had  designed  to  prevent 
women  from  attending  religious  meetings,  or 
taking  a  public  part  therein,  when  there  would 
he  have  allowed  all  this  laboring  and  prophe- 
sying and  instructing  to  go  on .?  Instead  of 
stopping  it,  however,  he  at  different  times 
commends  Phnebe  and  her  sister-laborers  to 
the  kind  regards  of  other  Churches.  Let  the 
utterances  of  Paul  be  properly  and  fairly  in- 
terpreted, and  it  will  be  manifest  that  men  and 
women  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  Decidedly, 
it  is  wrong  for  a  woman  to  usurp  authority 
over  the  man  ;    and  just  as  decidedly  wrong 


I 


I 


|:  j 

■f  ■■  \ 

i:  ; 


114 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


is  it  for  a  man  to  usurp  authority  over  the 
woman.  According  to  history,  the  office  of 
deaconess  continued  until  between  the  elev- 
enth and  twelfth  centuries,  when,  the  mid- 
night  of  the  Dark  Ages  having  come,  it  was 
abolished  in  both  the  Greek  and  Latin 
Churches.  Which  sex  usurped  authority  in 
that  case?  ,   • 

The  next  point  coming  under  consideration 
is  Paul's  direction  to  the  Ephesian  Church : 
"Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own 
husbands,  as  unto  the  Lord.  For  the  husband 
is  the  head  of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ  is  the 
head  of  the  Church :  and  he  is  the  Savior  of 
the  body.  Therefore  as  the  Church  is  subject 
unto  Christ,  so  let  the  wives  be  to  their  own 
husbands  in  every  thing."    (Eph.  v,  22-24.) 

From  the  verses  preceding  this  quotation, 
and  those  following,  it  is  evident  the  apostle 
had  reference  to  the  marriage  covenant,  and 
not  to  the  inferiority  of  woman  or  superiority 
of  man.     Fidelity  of  wives  to  their  husbands 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


"S 


was  the  thing  being  enjoined ;  hence  the 
comparison  between  the  marriage  state  and 
the  Church  of  Christ.  As  the  Church  was 
to  be  pure  from  idolatry,  acknowledging  but 
one  God,  even  the  Father,  and  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son,  so  the  wife  was  to  be  pure,  submit- 
ting herself  only  to  her  husband.  It  is  not 
surprising  that,  in  planting  the  Christian 
Church,  such  directions  should  be  given  to 
its  members,  gathered  in  as  they  were  from 
a  dark,  immoral  pagan  world,  where  the  mar- 
riage tie  was  so  lightly  regarded.  The  hus- 
band should  be  to  his  wife  the  earthly  "  mu- 
nition of  rocks."  It  is  in  this  sense  that  the 
man  is  the  head  of  the  woman  and  the  Savior 
of  her  body.  The  apostle  continues :  "  So 
ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own 
bodies."  "  Let  every  one  of  you  in  particular 
so  love  his  wife  even  as  himself;  and  the 
wife  see  that  she  reverence  her  husband." 
Not  worship  him  ;  but  treat  him  with  marked 
and    becoming   respect,  making   his    interest 


ill 


i: 


I  I 


i1 


>i 


::  i 


ii6 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


her  own,  loving  him  above  every  earthly  ob- 
ject, and  seeking  his  happiness  in  every  pos- 
sible manner.  It  is  in  this  mutual  sense 
that  a  wife  is  to  be  subject  to  her  husband 
in  every  thing.  Even  the  greatest  sticklers 
for  the  absolute  subjection  of  women  explain 
the  latter  clause  of  the  text  by  adding  the 
word  lawful.  If  a  woman's  husband  'is  to  be 
her  irresponsible  lord,  to  whom  she  is  to  go 
for  instruction,  who  is  the  qualified  judge  of 
what  is  lawful  ?  But  the  reasoning  of  the 
entire  question  as  given  in  the  chapter,  por- 
tions of  which  have  been  quoted,  does  not 
bear  out  the  assertion  that  the  wife  is  men- 
tally inferior  to  her  husband,  or  that  he  has 
any  right  to  treat  her  as  such.  She  is  neither 
his  servant  nor  his  slave,  so  far  as  God's  law 
is  concerned.  The  wife  has  the  same  right 
to  expect  fidelity  from  her  husband  that  he 
has  to  expect  it  from  her.  The  covenant  of 
marriage  is  a  mutual  one,  equally  binding 
on  both. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


"7 


The  injunction  to  the  Ephesians  concerning 
the  relations  in  the  married  state  is  also  given 
to  the  Colossians,  very  evidently  relating  to 
the  same  thing:  love  and  unwavering  fidelity 
between  man  and  wife.  Peter  also  enjoins 
the  subjection  of  wives  in  his  First  Epistle, 
third  chapter,  first  and  second  verses ;  but  he 
also  explains  that  this  subjection  is  chastity, 
mild  and  gentle  conversation,  that  their 
husbands,  if  not  Christians,  might  be  won 
over  by  them.  In  this  very  injunction  there 
is  a  supposition  by  the  apostle  that  the  hus- 
band and  wife  might  be  of  different  faith,  that 
she  might  have  learned  something  not  taught 
by  him,  and  have  been  in  a  position  to  in- 
struct him  ;  and  by  her  chastity,  her  love  and 
gentleness,  and  her  instructions — coupled  with 
fear  for  his  state  out  of  Christ — might  succeed 
in  winning  him  to  the  truth. 

Though  Christianity  greatly  purified  the 
moral  atmosphere  of  the  world,  and  caused 
those  embracing  it  to  renounce  polygamy,  yet 


•ij' 


Ii8 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


even  those  who  had  become  Christian  clung 
to  the  false  assumptions  and  arbitrary  pre- 
rogatives claimed  by  men  while  yet  in  heathen 
darkness.  To  reconcile  women  to  the  injus- 
tice done  them,  or  to  overawe  them  into  sub- 
mission, it  was  sought  to  make  them  believe 
that  the  disabilities  of  their  condition  were  by 
Divine  appointment,  though  this  doctrine  the 
apostles  took  pains  to  correct. 

A  lamentable  amount  of  infidelity  has  been 
engendered  by  the  manner  in  which  the 
Scri^jtures  have  been  distorted  to  make  them 
seem  to  sanction  almost  every  social  and  civil 
wrong.  They  have  been  quoted  as  authority 
for  tlie  absolute  subjection  of  woman ;  and, 
with  equal  fairness,  for  servile  submission  to 
despotic  monarchs,  for  the  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks,,  for  the  burning  of  heretics,  and  for  the 
justification  of  slavery.  "Within  a  very  few 
years  past,  these  very  Epistles  have  been 
brought  forward  to  prove  the  "sum  of  all 
villainies"  a  God-given  boon  to  man,  the  slave 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


119 


included  —  Colossians  iii,  22,  being  deemed 
unanswerable. 

Those  who  advocated  the  cause  of  human 
fre6doni,  who  desired  the  privilege  of  wor- 
shiping God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences,  who  strove  to  drive 
intemperance  from  the  land,  or  who  pleaded 
for  the  liberty  of  the  slave,  were  alike  de- 
nounced as  advocating  what  was  contrary 
to  the  revealed  will  of  God ;  and  in  like 
manner,  now,  are  those  denounced  who  advo- 
cate the  perfect  equality  of  woman  with  man. 
With  regard  to  political  and  religious  freedom, 
the  cause  of  temperance,  and  the  slavery 
question,  time  has  proved  that  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  so  far  from  being  against,  was  on  the 
side  of,  those  who  advocated  these  great  re- 
forms, and  led  them  on  to  victory ;  and  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  last  reform 
will,  by  the  same  hand,  be  led  to  similar 
triumph. 

It  is  continually  objected,  that  infidels,  im- 


120 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


l! 


moral  men,  and  women  of  ill-repute,  array 
themselves  upon  the  side  of  equal  rights  to 
women :  so  do  infidels,  libertines,  and  women 
lost  to  shame,  array  themselves  against  it ; 
therefore,  the  one  counterbalances  the  othei. 

But  suppose  this  were  not  so,  to  what 
would  the  objection  amount?  The  cause  of 
human  freedom  has  more  than  once  been  ad- 
vocated  by  rank  infidels ;  but  did  God  there- 
fore curse  a  cause  good  in  itself,  because 
wicked  men  and  women  for  once  saw  clearly, 
and  said  they  thought  that  cause  right  and 
reasonable  ?  History  answers.  No.  The  chil- 
dren of  this  generation  were  simply  wiser 
than  many  of  the  children  of  light.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  each  of  the  other  re- 
forms. The  abolition  of  slavery  had  its 
infidel  advocates ;  so  had  the  temperance 
movement,  etc. ;  and  these  advocates  have  to 
a  certain  extent  damaged  their  respective 
causes  by  their  advocacy  of  them ;  yet  the 
tide  of  human  progress  has  been  onward.     A 


NEW  TESTAMENT  TEACHINGS. 


121 


claim  which  is  based  upon  justice  may  be 
injured  by  an  extravagant,  irreverent,  or  pro- 
fane advocacy ;  but  it  is  still  a  just  claim, 
and  as  such,  without  respect  to  its  advocates, 
entitled  to  recognition. 

Polygamy,  slavery,  drunkenness,  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  inferiority  of  woman  to  man, 
are  all  alike  the  offspring  of  sin — all  alike 
relics  of  barbarism — alike  the  enemies  of  God 
and  human  freedom. 

Long-established  prejudices  and  old  usages, 
no  matter  how  false  and  oppressive,  are,  like 
the  everlasting  hills,  hard  to  be  removed. 
But,  as  the  mountains  themselves  have  been 
overcome  by  skill  and  hard  work,  and  the 
valleys  are  being  filled  by  persevering  toil; 
as  the  crooked  is  being  made  straight  and 
the  rough  places  plain,  so  that  the  people  of 
this  mighty  continent  may  travel  with  ease 
in  palace-cars  from  sea  to  sea ;  so  must  the 
strong  barriers  of  prejudice,  ignorance,  mis- 
representation, and   indifference,  be   removed 


i 


I! 


1^ 


122 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


by  the  force  of  truth  and  sound  reason,  and 
women  be  admitted  to  their  legitimate  po- 
sition in  society,  with  equal  prerogatives  ac- 
corded to  them,  that  they  may  thereby  more 
p(  ffectly  exert  their  natural  influence  in  im- 
proving the  world. 


MM»t  , 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ofttan  ^cfo€>e  ilj^e  ^aiv. 


HE  fact  that  men  and  women  are 
held  amenable  to  the  same  Divine 
law,  and  held  equally  accountable  for 
any  infraction  of  it,  and  that  human  law,  with 
regard  to  criminal  actions,  is  based  upon  the 
same  principle,  clearly  proves  that  God  has 
created  men  and  women,  as  a  race,  with  equal 
mental  and  moral  capacity,  and  that,  so  far 
as  it  suited  them  to  do  so,  men  have  ac- 
knowledged the  equality  in  framing  the  laws, 
especially  those  relating  to  the  punishment 
for  crimes  committed.  It  was  only  where 
masculine  arrogance  and  selfishness  were  con- 
cerned, that  the  privileges  of  equality  were 

123 


Wo.    ?.  •■   hi 


"lllllf 


til 


l\ 


124 


WOMAN*  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


denied  to  women ;  and  they  are  still  denied 
for  the  same  reason.  Such  is  man's  consis- 
tency. If  women,  because  of  their  sex — in- 
deed, in  consequence  of  it — are  inferior  to  men 
in  mental  and  moral  capacity,  then  it  is  unjust 
to  judge  them  by  the  same  law;  for  where 
little  is  given  little  should  be  required.  Im- 
becile men  are  not  judged  by  the  same  code 
as  men  of  sound  mind.  If  men  and  women 
are  mentally  and  morally  equal — and  we  hold 
they  are — then  they  are  justly  held  to  be 
equally  accountable  by  the  laws,  provided 
they  have  been  equally  represented  in  the 
making  of  'ihose  laws ;  and  if  held  equally  ac- 
countable with  men  to  the  laws,  they  ought, 
in  common  justice,  to  be  entitled  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  equal  immunities  with  men,  and  an 
equal  voice  in  the  making  of  the  laws  that 
are  to  govern  them. 

To  urge  that,  because  the  house  is  the  le- 
gitimate placS  for  a  woman,  she  is  therefore 
inferior  to  man,  and   in   consequence  ought 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


125 


not  to  enjoy  the  same  rights,  is  no  more  log- 
ical than  to  contend  that,  because  the  farm  is 
the  legitimate  place  for  the  farmer,  he  is 
therefore- inferior  to  the  lawyer,  who  is  some- 
what better  skilled  in  legal  lore,  and  that 
consequently  the  farmer  is  not  entitled  to 
equal  political  and  religious  rights  and  privi- 
leges with  the  lawyer ;  or  that,  because  neither 
of  these  classes  understands  the  minutiae  of 
housekeeping,  therefore  they  are  inferior  to 
women,  and  in  consequence  not  entitled  to 
equal  rights  and  privileges  with  them.  Good 
housekeeping  is  quite  as  essential  to  the 
world's  good,  and  to  the  healthful  develop- 
ment of  humanity,  as  good  farming  or  the 
proper  construing  of  well-made  laws,  neither 
of  which  is  to  be  undervalued.  Where,  then, 
is  the  inferiority  ? 

It  requires  as  much  good  judgment  and  tact 
to  manage  a  house  properly  as  it  does  to  con- 
duct a  farm,  make  out  a  legal  form,  carry  on 
an  extensive  commercial  business,  or  attend 


II 


Ill 


126 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


U 


to  a  banking  establishment  as  it  ought  to  be 
attended  to ;  and  quite  as  much  wisdom  and 
prudence  are  needed  to  rear  up  successfully 
and  govern  a  family  with  discretion,  as  is 
needed  in  the  government  of  a  province  or 
state.  Indeed  more  practical  good  sense  is 
shown  in  the  government  of  the  majority  of 
those  homes  where  the  wife  and  moth  "  is 
allowed  to  govern  without  interference,  than 
is  usually  exhibited  in  the  exclusively  mascu- 
line government  of  states  and  empires. 

It  "is  the  mind  that  makes  the  man,"  sings 
one  of  Britain's  most  honored  poets ;  the  mind, 
not  the  social  position  he  occupies.  And  so 
with  woman ;  it  is  the  mind,  and  not  her  local 
habitation  or  employment,  that  entitles  her  to 
consideration — that  entitles  her  to  equality,  to 
justice.  With  equal  advantages,  women  are 
no  whit  behind  men  in  any  thing  except 
physical  strength.  Are  men  deprived  of  civil 
rights  because  some  of  them  are  puny  ? 

It  is  an  established  fact  that,  where  girls 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


127 


have  had  the  same  advantages,  and  often 
when  they  have  had  not  nearly  such  good 
ones,  they  have  maintained  equally  honorable 
positions  in  their  classes,  frequently  outstrip- 
ping their  masculine  competitors  in  the  liter- 
ary contest. 

Should  any  doubt  that  this  can  be  done,  all 
that  is  necessary,  to  prove  the  truth  or  falsity 
of  the  assertion,  is  to  select  any  given  number 
of  boys  and  girls  of  average  intellect,  of  the 
same  or  nearly  the  same  ages,  and  afford 
precisely  the  same  advantages  to  them  all,  for 
a  given  length  of  time,  and  then  subject  boys 
and  girls  to  a  like  critical  examination.  Even 
with  the  disadvantages  under  which  they 
labor  in  our  ordinary  and  even  higher  schools, 
girls  have  surmounted  the  difficulties  of  their 
position,  and  without  favor — indeed,  in  spite 
of  ridicule,  partiality,  and  opposition — have 
come  out  first  in  their  examinations.  Send 
such  a  class  of  young  women  as  this  to  a 
university  that  will  honestly  admit  them  to 


I  i 


:iti;i| 


■>; 


128 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


■"  i  i 


if 


all  its  advantages,  and  allow  them  to  compete 
with  the  most  studious  young  men  admitted 
to  the  same  university;  let  both  enjoy  pre- 
cisely similar  facilities  throughout  the  entire 
course ;  and  see  if  there  will  not  be  as  many 
brilliant  scholars  who  will  graduate  with  hon- 
ors among  the  women  as  among  the  men.  It 
is  said  there  are  more  talented  men,  more 
men  eminent  in  science  or  in  history,  than 
there  are  women.  Certainly.  The  advantage 
has  all  been  on  the  side  of  the  man,  the  dis- 
advantage on  the  side  of  the  woman ;  besides 
which,  the  doctrine  that  it  is  unwomanly  to 
emerge  from  the  retirement  befitting  her  sex 
into  public  notice  has  been  preached  so  per- 
sistently, that  many  women  truly  great  have 
shrunk  from  the  ribald  criticism — to  use  no 
stronger  term — with  which  insolent  men  as- 
sailed them.  Consequently,  learned  women 
have  frequently  given  their  works  to  the  world 
anonymously,  or  allowed  them  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  their  male  relatives.     An  instance  in 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


129 


point  is  Miss  Herschel.  It  is  well  known,  not 
only  that  she  gave  her  brother  valuable  assist- 
ance in  his  astronomical  pursuits,  but  that 
some"  of  the  discoveries  attributed  to  him  were 
actually  made  by  her ;  not  because  he  wished 
to  defraud  her  of  the  honor  of  her  achieve- 
ment, but  because  she  shrank  from  public 
notice. 

But  history  has  given  us  the  record  of 
learned  women  enough  to  show  that,  with 
any  thing  like  fair  play,  there  would  have 
been  more.  Ao  it  is,  the  list  of  them  is 
longer— very  much  longer — than  those  given 
to  decry  their  ability  are  willing  to  admit, 
or  are  perhaps  aware  of  The  names  of  wo- 
men are  found  who  have  been  famous  for  the. 
founding  of  empires,  the  carrying  on  success- 
fully of  civil  governments,  and  the  leading  on 
to  glorious  victory  of  armies  which,  under  the 
generalship  of  men,  had  suffered  defeat  after 
defeat,  till  they  were  not  only  disheartened, 
but  almost  disorganized;   and  yet  a  woman 


i 

i  'f 

is 
it 


\ 


if 


i 


130 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


reorganized  these  shattered  bands  and  roused 
them  once  more  to  determined  action.  They 
have  been  found,  in  times  of  trouble,  giving 
to  statesmen  sound  counsel,  which,  followed, 
has  led  to  beneficial  results ;  and,  alas  I  they 
have,  equally  with  men,  been  found  capable 
of  base  intrigue.  Cleopatra  was  fully  on  a 
par  with  Marc  Antony,  Madame  cje  Pompa- 
dour with  Richelieu  or  Mazarin. 

^Vomen  noted  for  piety  and  for  patriotism 
are  not  found  lacking  on  this  list.  Retired  lives 
as  they  have  led,  compared  with  men,  history, 
both  sacred  and  profane,  abounds  with  them. 
They  shine  out  conspicuously,  bright  lights 
in  a  very  dark  world.  Miriam  stands  side  by 
side  with  Moses,  Deborah  a  little  in  advance 
of  Barak.  They  contribute  their  jewels  to 
adorn  the  tabernacle  or  to  save  the  State ;  and, 
in  time  of  need,  they  cheerfully  endure  every 
privation,  that  the  commonwealth  may  pros- 
per. They  were  found  last  lingerers  about 
the  cross,  and  the  first  to  visit  the  sepulcher 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


131 


of  Christ;  and  they  were  the  frrst  commis- 
sioned by  him  to  proclaim  his  resurrection. 

In  philanthropic  enterprise,  Mrs.  Fry  is  the 
peer  of  Howard.  Who,  among  men,  have  been 
found  to  excel  the  world-honored  Florence 
Nightingale  in  intelligent  arrangements  and 
administrative  talent,  as  displayed  in  her  man- 
agement of  the  important  department  to  which 
she  devoted  herself,  and  where  her  courage, 
promptitude,  and  sound  judgment  were  as  con- 
spicuous as  her  sweet,  womanly  compassion  ? 

Similar  qualities  distinguish  in  a  marked 
degree  both  Miss  Rye  and  Miss  M'Pherson, 
and  also  the  power  of  influencing  and  con- 
trolling juveniles  unaccustomed  to  moral  re- 
straints. These,  though  only  a  few  of  the 
many  noble  women  whose  business  talents 
have  been  us»d  to  bless  the  needy  and  suffer- 
ing, may  suffice  to  prove  that  women  have 
not  only  the  heart  to  devise  philanthropic  un- 
dertakings, but  the  ability  to  carry  them  out 
successfully. 


u 


!i 


!    li 


132 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Mothers  of  great  mental  power  rear  sons 
whose  names  never  die.  The  mother  of  the 
Wesleys,  and  the  mother  of  Washington,  are 
named  as  reverently  as  are  these  illustrious 
men  themselves.  In  fine,  how  few  great  men 
there  are  who  do  not,  when  they  speak  upon 
the  subject,  attribute  their  greatness  or  suc- 
cess to  their  mothers !  , 

Since,  then,  women  have  in  a  measure 
shown  the  capabilities  of  which  they  are  pos- 
sessed, it  remains  to  be  ascertained  what 
rights  and  privileges  are  accorded  them,  and 
to  be  shown  whether  these  are  in  any  pro- 
portion to  what  they  are  entitled  to ;  and,  as 
the  women  of  Europe  and  America  enjoy 
more  liberty  than  those  of  the  other  portions 
of  the  globe,  it  is  their  condition  that  will 
be  inquired  into.  Whatever  may  Ic  amiss  in 
Christianized  and  civilized  lands,  the  state  of 
woman  is  incomparably  worse  where  the  light 
of  the  Gospel  does  not  shine. 

Christianity   and   its   attendant  civilization 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THF  ^  •  'v. 


133 


have  done  much  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  woman.  Except  in  Turkey  and 
in  Utah,  the  idea  that  a  man  is  to  have  more 
than  one  wife  at  the  same  time  is  not  toler- 
ated. In  referring  to  the  continents  of  Eu- 
rope and  America,  it  will  be  understood  that 
Turkey  in  the  one,  Utah  in  the  other,  are 
always  excepted.  In  neither  Europe  nor 
America  are  women  subject  to  the  surveil- 
lance of  the  East;  they  are  not  bought  and 
sold  in  the  markets.  They  are,  if  they  do  not 
marry  before  coming  of  age,  mistresses  of 
their  own  personal  actions.  The  halls  of  sci- 
ence, literature,  and  the  arts,  have  been  par- 
tially opened  to  them.  The  doors  have  been 
set  ajar,  and  they  allowed  to  peep  in.  They 
may  now  attend  the  house  of  God  without 
being  railed  in  behind  a  lattice ;  and  they  may, 
without  censure,  move  about  the  streets  with- 
out veils,  if  it  is  not  the  fashion,  or  it  does  not 
please  them  to  wear  them.  They  are  accorded 
a  measure  of  liberty   in    forming  their  own 


! 


'34 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL 


religious  opinions;  that  is,  the  law  does  not 
prevent  them  from  doing  so.  They  may,  if 
they  can,  acquire  property  in  their  own  names, 
or  they  may  inherit  it.  In  such  cases  they, 
perhaps,  if  unmarried,  may  be  allowed  to  man- 
age such  property.  Once  married,  't  is  man- 
aged, or  mismanaged,  as  the  case  may  be,  by 
the  husband,  except  in  very  special  cases. 
They  are  not  compelled  by  law  to  marry  un- 
less they  choose,  and  are  supposed  to  have  a 
choice  with  regard  to  those  they  do  marry, 
though  outside  pressure  is  very  frequently 
brought  to  bear  with  regard  to  both.  And, 
finally,  they  are  allowed  a  share  of  authority 
in  the  joint  government  of  their  respective 
families.  This  is  about  the  sum  total  of  the 
privileges  accorded  to  them. 

In  the  population  of  both  continents,  men 
and  women  are  about  equally  divided.  It  is 
not  estimated  that  there  are  any  more  idiots 
or  imbeciles  among  women  than  there  are 
among   men.      Here,   then,   one-half  of  this 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


135 


mighty  population  are  prohibited  by  law  from 
having  any  voice  in  the  making  of  the  laws 
by  which  they  are  governed,  or  the  carrying 
of  them  out  after  they  are  made.  Where  is 
justice  in  this  casa?  One  slight  exception 
may  be  made  here:  in  some  of  the  Western 
States  women  are  allowed  to  vote  and  to  hold 
some  few  positions  of  profit  and  trust  in  the 
State.  It  is  only  a  trifling  advantage,  but  still 
it  is  an  advantage,  and  is  one  step  gained  iu 
the  right  direction. 

The  law  allows  the  mother's  holiest  feelings 
to  be  outraged  with  impunity.  It  does  not 
recognize  her  right  to  the  custody  of  her  own 
children,  except  at  the  husband's  pleasure. 
She  may  be  intelligent  and  educated,  virtuous 
and  pious.  Yet,  if  he  so  wills,  he  may  remove 
her  children  from  her  care,  deprive  her  of 
their  society,  and  even  of  the  comfort  of  occa- 
sionally seeing  them ;  and  he  may  place  them 
under  the  tutelage  of  the  ignorant  and  vicious ; 

while  the  deeply  wronged  mother  is  powerless, 

10 


I ..    1 


'Jm,i 


i^^^lHii 


i 


li; 


m 


136 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


according  to  law,  to    help  either   herself  or 
her  children.  • 

It  is  counted  among  one  of  woman's  privi- 
leges that  she  may  hold  property  in  her  own 
right.  Upon  v/hat  tenure  is  she  allowed  to. 
hold  it?  If  the  property  be  acquired  or  in- 
herited, without  entail  of  any  sort;  if  it  be 
real  estate,  it  is  hers  in  fee-simple  tiH  she  mar- 
ries. After  that  event — -unless  she  has  guarded 
her  rights  by  a  legal  pre-nuptial  contract, 
properly  signed  and  attested  to  by  him  who  is 
to  be  her  husband — she  may  not  dispose  of 
any  part  of  it  without  his  express  sanction. 
He  may  not  legally  sell  it  away  from  her,  it  is 
truo ;  but  by  law  he  is  her  master,  and  may 
manage  it  according  to  his  supreme  pleasure 
while  he  lives.  Even  a  will  made  by  her  does 
not  take  effect,  except  her  husband  pleases,  till 
his  death.  If  the  property  be  in  ready  money 
or  in  funds — except  it  be  guarded  in  the  con- 
tract— the  husband  becomes  possessed  of  it 
at  once,  and  may  appropriate  and  apply  it  to 


\ 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


137 


any  purpose  he  pleases,  without  consulting 
the  wishes  of  his  wife.  She  has  no  redress. 
He  may,  despite  her  remonstrances,  take  this 
her  substance  and  her  money,  and  spend  it  in 
foolish  speculation  ;  or,  worse  still,  in  gambling, 
drunkenness,  and  debauchery.  He  may  mal- 
treat her  and  insult  her  by  the  presence  in  her 
own  house  of  his  mistress.  If,  no  longer  able 
to  endure  his  brutality,  she  is  obliged  to  leave 
him,  he  may,  unless  the  law  grant  a  divorce 
and  alimony,  keep  possession  of  her  houses  and 
lands,  while  she  must  bave  home  and  children 
behind,  and  go  out  upon  the  world  penniless. 
She  can  not  force  him  to  return  one  dollar  of 
the  wealth  that  was  her  own ;  and  after  the 
separation,  unless  legal  papers  warranting  it 
have  been  executed,  he  can  follow  her  and  col- 
lect her  scanty  earnings.  Thousands  upon 
the  hixk  of  thousands  of  times  has  all  this  oc- 
curred. Does  not  civilized  law  give  a  woman 
a  lien  upon  her  husband's  property.?  and  does 
not  this  counterbalance  his   lien   upon  hers } 


138 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


Ki 


II 


About  a?  equally  as  are  all  other  privileges 
balanced  between  the  sexes ;  no  more. 

She  has  no  legal  voice  whatever  in  the  man- 
agement of  her  husband's  estate.  His  real 
estate  is  the  only  thing  upon  which  she  has 
any  claim,  and  this  is  only  a  life  interest — 
after  his  death — of  the  one-third  of  the  estate ; 
and  of  this  she  may  only  draw  the  interest 
upon  the  valuation.  She  may  refuse  to  bar 
her  dower*  in  a  sale  of  land,  but  if  the  bar- 
gain goes  on,  her  refusal  does  not  invalidate 
the  title ;  all  she  can  do  is,  in  the  event  of 
her  husband's  death,  to  claim  her  interest  on 
her  "thirds."  This  is  all  she  can  claim.  The 
furniture  of  her  home,  the  verv  beds  which 
she  may  have  brought  to  the  house,  are  in- 
cluded in  the  inventory  of  her  husband's 
effects  ;  and,  unless  she  agrees  to  accept  them 
as  part  of  her  thirds,  she  may  be  left  without 
one  on  which  to  rest  her  weary  limbs  ;   and 


*  By  recent  legislation  in  Ontario,  she  is  depr.'ved  of  her 
right  of  dower  in  wild  lands. 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


139 


that,  too,  though  the  property  may  have  been 
purchased  with  money  brought  by  her  into 
the  matrimonial  firm  ;  or  though  she  may  have 
been  the  working-bee  who  in  reality  acquired 
it.  This  is  not  an  overdrawn  picture.  It  is 
the  law  in  civilized  countries;  and  men  are 
found  every  day  who  avail  themselves  of  its 
conditions.  That  all  men  are  not  mean 
enough  to  take  advantage  of  such  laws,  is  no 
excuse  for  their  existence.  It  is  barbarous 
that,  by  laws  in  the  enacting  of  which  women 
have  had  no  voice,  they  are  left  to  the  mercy 
of  unscrupulous  men,  without  the  possibility 
of  better  men  coming  to  their  help,  except  by 
repealing  the  iniquitous  statutes. 

It  is  quite  true  that  all  women  are  not  made 
to  feel  the  full  force  of  this  bitter  oppression, 
because  of  the  kindness  of  their  husbands,  or 
the  prudent  forethought  of  their  fathers  in 
providing  for  unlooked-for  emergencies  which 
might  occasion  poverty  or  distress ;  but  the 
laws,  and  the  makers  of  them,  deserve  little 


I.^iii 


i'  ■ 


M 

1 


j      I 
'      1 


J 


140 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


credit  for  any  comfort  or  degree  of  independ- 
ence enjoyed  by  women.  More  sorrowful  than 
it  is,  infinitely  more  sorrowful,  would  woman's 
condition  be,  if  true  Christianity  had  not  made 
many  men  more  just  than  the  laws  require 
them  to  be.  Many  of  the  slaves  had  kind 
masters ;  but  was  slavery  any  the  less  an  in- 
iquitous outrage  upon  humanity,  a  .curse  upon 
the  land,  a  blot  that  could  only  be  wiped  away 
by  a  bloody  war .?  The  present  social  condi- 
tion of  women  is  merely  one  system  of  do- 
mestic slavery,  which  is  hourly  calling  put  to 
God  for  redress;  and,  though  he  tarry  long, 
yet  his  afflicted  children's  cry  is  never  lifted 
up  in  vain. 

Society  is  even  yet  so  constituted,  and  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  administrators  of  the 
law  so  blinded,  by  the  prejudices  which  long 
usage  has  established,  that  even  the  very  few 
laws  which  are  on  record  for  her  so-called 
protection,  are  rendered  of  little  avail. 

The  sufferings  of  women  and  children  from 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


141 


the  effects  of  the  liquor-traffic,  is  perfectly 
frightful ;  and  what  help  is  there  for  it  ? 
Lately,  in  Canada,  the  wife  may,  after  she  is 
reduced  to  poverty,  forbid  the  dram-seller  to 
sell  her  husband  any  more  liquor.  If  he  pays 
attention  to  the  prohibition,  well  and  good ;  if 
not,  when  in  a  drunken  fit  the  husband  has 
well-nigh  killed  her,  she  may  have  him  bound 
over  to  keep  the  peace — if  she  can  find  a 
magistrate  v/ho  will  do  it — and  she  may  com- 
plain of  the  man  who  sold  him  the  liquor. 
Perhaps  he  will  be  fined  a  dollar,  perhaps  not. 
More  likely  the  latter,  with  a  not  very  gentle 
hint  that  she  has  stepped  out  of  her  sphere 
by  presuming  to  meddle  in  such  matters. 

If  women  had  a  voice  in  the  making  of  the 
laws,  how  long  would  the  dram-shop  and  low 
groggery  send  out  their  liquid  poison  to  pollute 
civilized  lands }  But  all  women  are  not  on 
the  side  of  right.  Neither  are  the  very  large 
majority  of  men.  Many  women  are  drunkards 
themselves,  and  worse.     True,  alas!  too  true. 


ft  i: 


142 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


Sin  has  corrupted  human  nature,  and  men  and 
women  have  sunk  to  fearful  depths  of  degra- 
dation. Statistics  go  to  show,  however,  that 
fallen  women  happily  bear  only  a  very  small 
proportion  to  those  upon  whose  moral  charac- 
ter there  is  no  stain.  The  virtuous  and  good 
are  in  the  large  majority. 

Men  are  not  allowed  by  law  to  murder  their 
wives.  Indeed,  the  law  forbids  them  to  beat 
them  ;  but  for  this  trifle,  husbands  frequently 
escape  with  an  "admonition."  Yet,  though 
the  letter  of  the  law  is  explicit,  they  must 
stop  short  of  killing  their  victims.  There  is  a 
case  on  record,  within  a  few  years  back  and  in 
a  British  province,  where  a  man  beat  his  wife 
to  death.  He  was  found  guilty  of  the  crime. 
The  jury — composed  of  men,  ot  course  — 
brought  in  a  verdict  of  manslaughter,  and  he 
was  sentenced  to  three  months  in  the  common 
jail.  The  plea  in  his  behalf  was  that  she  was 
a  drunkard.  The  poor  fellow  had  only  gone  a 
little  too  far ;  the  court  must  be  merciful.    At 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


143 


this  same  assize,  there  was  a  man  indicted  for 
theft.  He  had  made  good  his  entrance  into  a 
jeweler's  shop,  and  stolen  therefrom  a  watch. 
The  theft  was  proved,  and  the  culprit  sent  to 
the  penitentiary  for  three  years.  Query  :  Which 
was  the  greatei  crime,  killing  a  woman  or 
stealing  a  watch  } 

The  law  professes  to  punish  seduction  and 
rape ;  but  when  either  or  both  are  proved, 
what  are  the  sentences.^  In  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  scarcely  so  severe  as  for  damaging  an  ani- 
mal belonging  to  a  neighbor.  Occasionally, 
when  the  cases  have  been  atrociously  aggra- 
vating, a  man  has  been  hung  for  poisoning  his 
wife,  or  one  has  been  sent  to  the  penitentiary 
for  rape ;  but  the  instances  are  more  frequent 
in  which  the  criminal  escapes  punishment. 
It  is  contended  that,  usually,  the  women  who 
are  murdered,  or  otherwise  maltreated,  are 
ill-tempered,  drunken  creatures,  and  therefore 
not  worthy  the  protection  of  the  law.  "Would 
these  same   parties  contend    that  because  a 


:  >. 


' 


li 


i^^^ 


144 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


man  was  ill-tempereJ,  drunken,  or  dissolute, 
therefore  his  wife  was  scarcely  to  be  punished 
for  foully  murdering  him  ?  Not  at  all.  The 
universal  testimony  would  be  that  she  was  a 
shockingly  w'cked  wretch. 

Women,  as  well  as  men,  haye  to  contend 
with  infirmities  of  t'^mper ;  and  they  quite  as 
well  succeed  in  controlling  or  keeping  them  in 
check.  There  are  both  men  and  women,  un- 
fortunately, who  let  their  evil  passions  run 
riot  till  they  are  torments  to  all  who  have 
any  thing  to  do  with  them.  Some  women, 
naturally  gentle  and  kind,  have  been  so  ill- 
treated,  so  shamefully  tyrannized  over,  that 
m  process  of  time  the  "milk  of  human  kind- 
ness in  their  breasts  has  turned  to  gall ;" 
and  the  gall  is  then  bitter  enough.  Would 
not  men,  in  similar  circumstances,  be  just 
as  bitter  ? 

There  is  a  certain  class  of  women,  however, 
who  as  a  rule  are  likely  to  become  fretful  and 
ill-tempered  as  they  giow  in  years :  girls  who 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


145 


are  allowed  to  grow  up  with  uninformed  judg- 
ments, who  are  taught  that  the  chief  end  and 
aim  of  woman  is  to  captivate  and  please  the 
opposite  sex,  who  are  taught  to  think  a  pretty 
face  and  delicate  figure  of  more  importance 
than  good  sense  or  a  thorough  education. 
And  yet  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  that 
those  who  most  eloquently  assert  their  great 
superiority  over  the  entire  sex,  are  the  very 
men  most  easily  led — ay,  and  duped — by 
dressy,  frivolous,  brainless  women.  It  would 
be  a  misfortune,  scarcely  to  be  endured,  for 
such  men  to  have  wives  who  know  too  much. 
That  there  should  be  a  head  to  every  fam- 
ily,  is  self-evident.  A  man  and  hi.s  wife, 
according  to  Scripture,  should  be  one ;  and 
the  corporate  head  is  best  qualified  to  govern 
a  family,  or  manage  an  estate  in  which  both 
have  a  common  interest,  and  therefore  ought 
to  have  an  equal  voice.  What  one  lacks,  the 
other  may  have.  The  man  may  be  over- 
confident, the  woman  too  cautious ;  by  coun- 


146 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


seling  together,  a  proper  and  safe  medium  is 
arrived  at. 

One-half  of  the  property  in  the  matrimonial 
firm  should  always  be  regarded  as  belonging 
to  the  wife.  And  if  a  man  and  his  wife  fail 
to  agree  as  to  the  advantage,  or  even  safety, 
of  a  proposed  licheme,  and  he  is  still  deter- 
mined to  act  upon  his  own  judgment,  con- 
trary to  that  of  his  wife,  he  should  never,  in 
such  case,  risk  more  than  one-half  of  the 
property. 

What  right  has  a  man,  except  that  "  might 
makes  right,"  to  hazard  all  he  has  in  v/ild 
speculations,  or  by  indorsing  fnr  some  friend 
or  boon  companion,  despite  his  wife's  expos- 
tulations, or  without  her  knowledge.^  Yet 
it  is  done  every  day,  and  all  lost ;  and  if 
women  who  see  their  children  and  themselves 
thus  reduced  to  poverty,  complain,  they  are 
stigmatized  as  fretful,  unwomanly  grumblers. 
Their  husbands,  says  the  world,  had  a  right 
to  do  as   they  pleased  with  the  property  in 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


147 


their  possession.  What  if  the  wife  had  earned 
or  inherited  half,  or  even  the  whole,  of  it! 
what  should  women  know  ab^iit  business  ? 

In  indorsing,  especially,  a  man  should  be 
restrained  by  law,  under  pains  and  penalties, 
from  indorsing  to  amounts  exceeding  one-half 
of  his  property ;  and  no  indorsement  in  excess 
of  that  amount  should  be  allowed  to  constitute 
a  legal  claim. 

But  is  it  really  right  to  indorse  for  any  one, 
under  any  circumstances  ?  Why  should  a 
third  party  encumber  his  estate,  and  run  the 
risk  of  ruining  himself  and  his  family,  to  se- 
cure the  payment  of  a  debt  in  which  he  has 
no  personal  interest,  simply  to  make  a  cap- 
italist secure  in  the  investing  of  his  funds,  or 
in  the  profitable  disposal  of  his  property  on 
credit  ?  If  the  lender  can  not  trust  the  party 
who  deals  directly  with  him,  let  there  be 
no  credit.  It  is  manifestly  a  departure  from 
the  line  of  duty  for  a  man  to  jeopard  the 
means  of  maintenance  for  his  family,  without 


b;    ' 


i    ' 


\P 


m 


i " 


I    I 


4 


148 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


any  prospect  of  advantage  to  himself  or  them. 
It  is  as  much  a  great  moral  wrong  for  a  man 
to  rob  his  wife  and  children  as  it  is  to  rob 
strangers,  although  commercial  usage  and  the 
laws  of  mankind  may  declare  the  reverse. 
"  He  that  is  surety  for  a  stranger  shall  smart 
for  it :  and  he  that  hateth  suretyship  is 
sure."    (Proverbs  xi,  15.)  . 

It  may  be  said  that  to  refuse  to  indorse 
would  retard  trade.  Let  it  be  retarded,  then ; 
for  why  should  the  capitalist  have  two  chances 
to  the  trader's  one.^  If  the  man  trusted  is 
unsuccessful,  why,  to  enrich  the  capitalist 
who  loans  his  money  for  his  own  gain,  should 
an  innocent  family  be  impoverished,  who 
reaped  no  benefit,  and  were  expected  to  reap 
no  benefit,  from  the  transaction.?  How  many 
families  have  thus  been  brought  to  ruin,  the 
day  of  Judgment  alone  will  reveal. 

In  many  countries  the  law  of  primogeniture 
prevails,  though,  happily,  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  it  has  been  abolished.     Whether 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


149 


the  interests  of  the  mothers  and  younger 
members  of  families  ever  were  in  any  degree 
the  better  provided  for  by  every  thing  being 
placed  at  the  absolute  disposal  of  the  eldest 
son,  is  a  doubtful  question.  It  may  have 
been  that,  in  the  old  barbaric  times,  when 
women  and  children  were  a  prey  to  every 
bold  marauder  who  chose  to  prey  upon  them, 
that  the  law  was  intended  for  their  protection, 
the  eldest  son  or  brother  being  the  person 
most  likely  to  be  able  to  protect  them  ;  and 
the  property,  not  being  subdivided  and  scat- 
tered, was  more  easily  defended  ;  and  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  natural  affection 
would  ca\ise  the  heir  to  deal  justly  with  his 
mother  and  the  other  children. 

But  with  the  passing  away  of  these  days 
of  barbarous  forays,  passed  away  the  need  of 
any  such  arrangement ;  if  indeed  any  good 
ever  was  accomplished  by  it.  Certainly,  much 
mischief  has  been  wrought  and  foul  injustice 
sanctioned  by  it,  for  many  centuries. 


■'TT' 


1l 


!!l 


;i! 


r  '•! 


'iii  '^ 


;    ! 


ISO 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


An  arrangement  so  well  calculated  to  foster 
selfishness  and  arrogance,  so  long  established, 
produced  its  legitimate  fruit.  Since  at  his 
father's  death  every  thing,  or  nearly  so,  would 
come  under  his  control,  the  eldest  son  became 
the  one  important  member  of  his  family.  As 
his  mother  could  have  but  her  interest  on  the 
third  of  the  value  of , the  estate,  unless  specially 
provided  for  by  marriage  settlement,  she  neces- 
sarily became  dependent  upon  him  who  inher- 
ited the  estate ;  and  therefore  the  lad,  even 
while  a  lad,  was  constantly  deferred  to,  until 
he  deemed  himself  superior  to  the  rest  of  his 
family.  The  elder  members  of  a  family  might 
have  been  girls,  and,  there  being  no  boys, 
might  have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
property  of  their  father  might  be  theirs  ;  but 
a  boy  born  late  in  the  life  of  their  father 
would  sweep  away  the  delusion,  and  leave  them 
to  poverty.  Eldest  soiis  have  been  known  to 
send  their  brothers  and  sisters  out  into  the 
world    penniless,    and    sell    from    over   their 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


ISI 


mothers'  heads  the  homes  in  which  they  had 
hoped  to  die,  obliging  them  to  subsist  or 
starve,  as  they  might,  upon  their  meagre 
**  thirds."  Whether  justice  to  mother  or  chil- 
dren was  done  or  not,  depended  entirely  upon 
this  one  boy.  And  this  was  the  brightest 
side  of  primogeniture.  In  cases  of  entailed 
property,  very  often  the  entail  specified  that  it 
was  to  go  to  the  heir  male  for  all  time.  A 
father  in  this  case,  dying  without  a  son,  could 
do  nothing  besides  willing  to  these  girls  such 
loose  property  as  he  might  have  acquired  in- 
dependently of  his  estate.  It  might  revert  to 
his  daughter's  most  bitter  enemy ;  it  was  not 
in  his  power  to  help  it. 

From  the  hour  of  a  woman's  birth  to  her 
death,  there  is  a  continuous  system  of  belit- 
tling her,  which,  if  it  does  not  succeed  in  de- 
stroying her  self-respect,  thus  teaching  her 
that  she  may,  as  her  only  means  of  retaliation, 
allow  herself  in  any  little  meanness  which  may 

occur  to  her,  is  so  galling  to  that  self-respect, 

II 


1 1' 


152 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Pu) 


that  the  wonder  is  that  her  very  nature  has 
not  become  revolutionized.  But  women  have 
so  long  been  trained  in  this  school,  that  they 
have,  to  a  large  extent,  adopted  the  language 
expressive  of  their  own  inferiority,  if  not  the 
sentiment  itself. 

Emma  and  John,  as  children,  play  together ; 
Emma  aged  five  and  John  three  years  respect- 
ively. Their  toys  are  suited  to  their  sex — Em- 
ma's a  doll,  John's  a  toy  carriage  and  ponies. 
For  a  time  all  goes  on  harmoniously ;  they 
use  each  other's  toys  indiscriminately;  for  as 
yet  their  minds  have  not  been  contaminated 
by  outside  influences.  By  and  by,  as  will 
come  in  play,  both  children  wish  entire  pos- 
session of  the  same  toy.  There  is  a  contest, 
and  John  appeals  to  mother ;  "  Emma  has  my 
carriage,  and  won't  give  it  up."  "  For  shame !" 
says  mother ;  "  Emma,  give  John  his  toy  di- 
rectly. Do  p't  you  know  that  a  carriage  with 
ponies  is  a  toy  for  little  gentlemen }  Besides, 
if  you  are   good,  when   you   both   grow   up 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW. 


153 


perhaps  he  will  give  you  a  ride  with  real  car- 
riage and  live  ponies."  Awed  by  the  com- 
mand, and  charmed  by  the  distant  prospect  of 
the  actual  ride,  the  little  girl — as  indeed  she 
ought — gives  up  the  toy,  and  peace  is  restored 
for  the  time.  But  presently  a  shrill  cry  is 
heard :  "  Johnnie's  rubbing  all  the  paint  off 
my  dolly's  cheeks.  He  won't  give  her  to  me. 
O,  he  has  broken  her  arm."  The  mother's 
reply  to  this  cry  is  stern  and  sharp.  "  Do  n't 
be  so  cross  with  your  little  brother."  Then  to 
John.  "  O,  John,  you  ought  not  to  hrve  broken 
sister's  pretty  dolly ;  it  was  n't  half  so  nice  as 
your  own  little  carriage  and  ponies.  Why 
did  n't  you  play  with  them  ?  Boys  should  be 
gentlemen.  Emma  is  only  a  little  girl ;"  with 
a  tone  emphatic  of  inferiority  upon  the  word 
girl.  "  Little  boys  should  never  stoop  to  play 
with  girl's  toys."  Later  on,  where  a  girl's 
enjoyment  is  in  a  measure  provided  for  in 
connection  with  her  brother,  he  is  made  almost 
invariably  the  purse-bearer.     What  she  has  is 


i  "  :! 


iJli 


'  I'l  f ;  I 

•i  < 


'(  ■! 


154 


WOxMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


of  his  generosity.  Girls  must  be  yielding, 
submissive,  and  dependent,  as  becomes  their 
sex.  Boys  may  be  overbearing  or  rough  ;  it 
is  a  sign  of  a  manly  spirit  to  be  so. 

Thus  arrogance  and  injustice  is  fostered  in 
the  boy,  and  a  sense  of  wrong  begotten  in  the 
girl ;  the  one  is  degraded  in  her  own  eyes, 
and  in  the  eyes  of  her  brother ;  the  other  is 
elevated  above  his  just  level  in  his  own  eyes 
and  his  sister's;  and  heart-burning  and  jeal- 
ousies engendered  that  often  last  through  life. 
A  girl  may  hardly  choose  her  own  husband. 
Her  father,  brother,  or  some  friend  will  intro- 
duce some  eligible  party.  She  is  an  undutifui 
girl  if— when  he  honors  her  by  asking  her 
hand — she  do  not  thankfully  consent.  To  the 
credit  of  humanity  be  it  said,  that  girls  have 
more  liberty  of  choice  in  this  respect  than 
they  had  formerly.  There  is  still  room  for 
improvement.  The  sooner  match-making  and 
match-makers  die  out,  the  better  for  the  world. 
If  man  or  woman  make  a  mistake  in  marrying 


WOMAN  BEFORE  THE  LAW.  155 

unfortunately,  and  in  consequence  suffer  un- 
happiness,  let  those  more  fortunately  situated, 
pity  and  be  kind  to  the  sufferer;  but  let  none 
incur  the  responsibility  of  having  made  such 
a  match. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

]HAT  rights,  it  may  be  asked,  ought 
women  to  have  accorded  to  them 
which  they  do  not  now  enjoy  accord- 
ing to  law  ?  From  what  rights  does  custom 
debar  them  ?  We  claim  that  women,  being 
held  equally  responsible  to  the  law  with  men, 
are  as  well  entitled  to  have  a  voice  in  making 
that  law.  It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  all 
governments,  not  despotic,  that  "  taxation  with- 
out representation"  is  a  gross  infringement 
upon  the  civil  rights  of  the  subject  or  citizen. 
When,  in  spite  of  the  disadvantages  under 
which  women  labor,  they  have,  by  unflagging 

industry  and  prudent  management,  acquired 
156 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


157 


real  estate,  their  property  is  taxed  according 
to  the  same  rule  by  which  the  property  of 
men  is  taxed ;  and  still  the  elective  franchise 
is  denied  them.  Men  in  legislating  for  men 
know  their  wants  and  understand  their  partic- 
ular needs,  because  they  have  experience  of 
them  ;  but  in  legislating  for  women  they  look 
at  things  from  their  own  stand-point ;  and 
because  of  its  being  impossible  for  them  to 
experience  the  various  annoyances  and  humil- 
iations to  which  women  are  subjected,  they  do 
not  realize  the  injustice  toward  women  of  the 
existing  state  of  things,  or  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  changes  which  justice  to  them 
requires.  To  secure  any  thing  like  impartial 
justice  in  civil  affairs  for  women,  they  should 
have  an  equal  voice  in  making  the  laws. 

It  is  contended  that,  if  women  were  entitled 
to  the  franchise,  it  would  make  no  difference 
with  a  party  vote,  since  as  many  women  would 
vote  on  one  ticket  as  on  the  other.  What  of  it } 
The  franchise  has  been  extended  from  time  to 


ii 


I ,  I 


I!  • 


i  'I 


: 


<l  I 


158 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


time  for  centuries  to  various  classes  of  men, 
and  these  classes  did  not,  as  a  class,  confine 
themselves  to  one  particular  ticket  or  party. 
Was  't  anv  th  i  less  the  unalienable  rignt  of 
,'*iese  meJi  ^o  enjoy  their  liberty  to  vote 
as  they  w  -^  or  as  they  deemed  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  country?  Certainly  not. 
Neither  is  it  just  that  women  should  be  de- 
nied the  right  to  vote  because  it  would  make 
no  perceptible  difference  to  a  party  ticket. 

If  women  had  a  right  to  vote,  say  some,  it 
would  occasion  family  contention.  Why  should 
it  ?  If  a  woman  thinks  as  her  husband,  she 
will  vote  as  he  does ;  if  not,  none  but  an  un- 
reasonable and  overbearing  man  would  insist 
that  his  wife  must  think  as  he  does,  and  vote 
in  accordance  with  his  views,  whether  they 
agree  with  her  own  or  not.  It  would  be 
quite  as  just  and  as  reasonable  to  urge  that, 
because  the  peace  of  families  is  sometimes 
disturbed  by  fathers  and  sons  voting  for  oppo- 
site parties,  therefore,  the  sons  should  not  be 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


159 


alluwed  to  exercise  the  franchise  during  the 
life-time  of  their  fathers.  There  are  differ- 
ences ot  opinion  concerning  politics  in  families 
now ;  there  always  have  been,  and  always  will 
be,  unless  some  process  can  be  devised  whereby 
women  will  be  deprived  of  t'^  power  of 
thought.  Are  these  existing  iiiTc  nces  less 
to  be  deprecated  than  those  'k.  ^y  to  result 
from  extending  the  franchise  to  women  ?  How 
can  it  be  supposed  that  the  ,^eace  of  families 
is  secured  by  men  only  having  the  liberty  to 
give  practical  expression  to  their  viewv*^^  by 
recording  votes  which  may  tell  for  the  good 
or  ill  of  the  country,  while  women  have  not? 
though  very  frequently  a  woman  has  the  out- 
rage put  upon  her  of  knowing  that  her  hus- 
band is  recording  a  vote  upon  her  property, 
not  his,  for  a  party  to  which  she  is  consci- 
entiously opposed.  And  this  in  a  civilized,  not 
a  barbarous,  land !  Where  is  either  the  justice 
or  the  moral  honesty  of  such  a  course  of  pro- 
cedure ?     Surely,  if  a  woman  did  vote  for  a 


li 


i6o 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


candidate  or  for  a  measure  to  which  her  hus- 
band is  opposed,  it  is  no  worse,  and  ought  to 
produce  no  more  disturbance  in  the  family, 
than  for  him  to  vote  for  a  candidate  or  meas- 
ure to  which  she  is  opposed,  especially  where 
the  property  qualification  is  in  her  own  right, 
or  where — as  is  very  frequently  the  case- 
she  has  worked  equally  hard  in  earning  it; 
nor  would  disturbance  be  produced  by  it  at 
any  time,  were  men  as  much  disposed  to  be 
just  as  women  are  to  forgive  injury. 

Then,  there  are  many  intelligent,  industri- 
ous, and  enterprising  women  who  never  marry ; 
and  many  more  who  do,  are  left  widows  early 
in  life,  and  remain  so  to  its  end.  These  wo- 
men contribute  quite  as  much  to  the  public 
good  as  do  unmarried  men  in  similar  circum- 
stances. Why,  then,  should  the  one  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  the  ballot-box  or  the  polls, 
and  it  be  denied  to  the  other  ?  There  is  no 
just  reason  whatever.  Nothing  but  usage 
makes  such  an  injustice  tolerated ;  nothing  but 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


I6l 


the  love  of  arbitrary  power  causes  it  to  be 
advocated. 

The  assertion  that  the  majority  of  women 
care  nothing  about  politics  or  the  exercise  of 
any  right  not  now  enjoyed  by  them,  is  about 
as  true  as  the  asseverations  of  those  who  op- 
posed the  passage  of  the  late  "Reform  Bill" 
in  England,  that  the  majority  of  the  middle 
and  poorer  classes  were  satisfied  with  the 
privileges  enjoyed,  and  would  scarcely — the 
poorer  classes  especially — be  able  to  vote  in- 
telligently if  the  privilege  were  allowed.  It 
was  roundly  asserted,  too,  that  all  this  reform 
agitation  was  the  work  of  demagogues  and 
infidels.  Time  has  proved  that  the  common 
people  of  England  were  able  to  record  intel- 
ligent votes,  and  that  they  did  prize  the  priv- 
ileges which  were  so  reluctantly  granted ; 
neither  is  infidelity  any  more  rampant  since 
liberty  has  been  given  to  the  people  to  ex- 
press their  opinions  than  it  was  before.  In- 
deed, it  has  less  material  upon  which  to  feed 


l!  'II'  * 


I 


V 

! 


162 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


and  grow  than  it  then  had.  It  is  asserted  by 
reverend  divines  that,  to  accord  women  equal 
rights  and  privileges  with  men,  is  to  counte- 
nance infidelity.  Such  assertions  have  yet  to 
be  proved  to  be  truthful.  Logically,  the  posi- 
tion is  untenable.  There  are  many  thousands 
more  infidels  among  men  than  among  women. 
How,  then,  can  these  divines  make  it  appear 
that  giving  to  women  equal  civil  and  political 
privileges  with  men  would  countenance  infi- 
delity, or  tend  to  its  increase  ?  Women  being 
so  much  more  generally  religiously  disposed 
than  men,  the  influence  of  the  former,  if  al- 
lowed its  due  weight  in  public  affairs,  would 
be  much  more  likely  to  neutralize  the  influ- 
ence of  the  infidel  men  now  exercising  the 
rights  and  privileges  from  which  women  are 
debarred,  and  would  thus  contribute  to  the 
development  of  a  higher  moral  and  religious 
tone  in  community.  Apply  these  men's  the- 
ory to  themselves,  and  chey  would  quickly 
observe  its  absurdity,  as  well  as  its  shameful 


WOMAN  AND  l.liUlSLATlON. 


163 


injustice.  It  is  said,  too,  that  women  are 
amply  represented  by  their  husbands,  broth- 
ers, or  fathers;  which  is  not  true,  since  wives 
do  not  always  think  as  their  husbands  do; 
daughters  do  not  always  see  matters  from  the 
same  stand-point  that  their  fathers  do,  any 
more  than  sons ;  and  sisters  do  not  agree  in 
opinion  with  brothers,  any  more  than  brothers 
agree  with  brothers.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that,  in  all  countries,  fathers  and  sons  have 
entertained  different  views,  both  political  and 
religious,  and  have  given  public  expression  of 
them  ;  so,  also,  bro'thers  have  arrayed  them- 
selves against  brothers  in  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical contests.  It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  say 
that  one  member  of  a  family — even  though  he 
be  the  "head" — of  necessity  represents  the 
views  of  the  entire  family.  But,  supposing  it 
were  true  that  the  thing  could  be  done,  it  would 
be  just  as  reasonable  for  women  to  represent 
their  fathers,  husbands,  sons,  and  brothers  at 
the  polls  as  to  be  represented  there  by  them. 


,;'§ 


i*  V 


f  h: 


164 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


It  i?  urged  that  many  women  are  frivolous, 
that  they  seem  scarcely  to  have  a  serious 
thought,  that  the  energies  of  their  minds — if 
they  have  any — are  bent  upon  the  acquire- 
ment of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  latest 
foreign  fashion,  heedless  whether  they  ruin 
father  or  husband  or  not.  So  there  are — those 
especially  who  are  taught  to  ,think  it  very 
"unfeminine"  to  be  "strong-minded"  enough 
to  be  independent,  who  deem  it  a  fearful  thing 
to  bend  mind  or  body  to  work  for  their  own 
living,  asserting,  with  an  unwitting  sarcasm, 
that  "papa"  or  "husband"  is  the  responsi- 
ble head  of  the  house,  and  that  it  is  his  busi- 
ness to  supply  their  wants.  There  are  frivol- 
ous young  men,  too,  in  this  world  of  ours, 
whose  whole  minds  seem  bent  on  the  exquisite 
parting  of  their  back  hair,  the  peculiar  shape 
of  thei."  collar  and  shade  of  gloves  or  neck-tie, 
and  the  exact  height  of  the  heel  of  their  French 
boots  ;  men  who  run  up  bills  and  ruin  fathers 
and  wives  without  any  apparent  compunctions 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


I6S 


irolous, 
serious 
ids — if 
cquire- 
;  latest 
;y   ruin 
—those 
it   very 
enough 
\i\  thing 
leir  own 
arcasm, 
sponsi- 
is  busi- 
frivol- 
f  ours, 
[quisite 
|r  shape 
leck-tie, 
[French 
fathers 
motions 


of  conscience,  and  who  feel  no  shame  that 
their  wives  or  daughters  support  them  while 
they  squander  both  time  and  money.  Yet 
these  men,  frivolous  as  it  is  possible  to  be, 
are  not  denied  equal  privileges  with  the  rest 
of  their  sex,  nor  is  their  frivolity  pleaded  as 
a  reason  why  sensible  men  should  not  be 
allowed  the  franchise. 

Why,  then,  should  the  frivolity  of  some 
women  be  urged  against  the  whole  sex.^ 
Rather,  educate  them.  Let  them  realize  that 
they  are  equally  with  man  responsible  to  God 
for  the  powers  of  mind  given  thern.  And  let 
them  know,  too,  that  they  shall  have  equal 
opportunities  for  the  development  and  exer- 
cise of  those  powers ;  that  with  equality  in 
responsibility  there  is  equality  in  privilege ; 
and  the  next  half-century  will  number  fewer 
frivolous  women — by  many  hundreds. 

The  dread  is  entertained  by  some  that,  if 
granted  the  elective  franchise,  women  would 
be  mixed   up  in   election   rows  and  drunken 


'•  V' ;  I 


'!!  1 1 


M  I 


i    f    •: 


I     s 


'•■    M 


166 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL 


squabbles,  as  men  are  now.  Such  an  event 
does  not  necessarily  follow ;  neither  is  it  at 
all  probable.  Men  of  good  principle  and 
well-balanced  judgment  do  not  make  either 
fools  or  beasts  of  themselves  now,  badly  as 
elections  are  managed ;  nor  would  sensible, 
right-minded  women  degrade  themselves  by 
unseemly  conduct  while  exercising  their  right 
to  vote. 

No  law  has  ever  yet  existed  which  entirely 
prevented  evil-minded  nien  and  evil-minded 
women  from  making  public  exhibition  of 
the^'r  degradation  ;  and,  as  society  is  now  con- 
structed, where  wicked  wen  congregate,  some 
wicked  women  will  be  f^und.  Elevate  women 
to  perfect  equality  with  nian,  and  fewer  wicked 
ones  will  prey  upon  society. 

The  great  objection,  the  one  which  rises 
above  all  others,  with  regard  to  women  taking 
an  active  part  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters, is,  that  they  would  thereby  neglect  their 
houses  and  families. 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


167 


event 
it   at 
z   and 
either 
.dly  as 
insible, 
ves  by 
ir  right 

entirely 

-minded 

1 

ion    of 
ow  con- 
e,  some 
women 
wicked 

:h  rises 
taking 
^al  mat- 
jct  their 


This  objection  has  some  weight ;  it  is  not 
altogether  so  unreasonable  as  most  of  the 
others  raised.  But  even  here  the  event 
dreaded  does  not  necessarily  follow,  any  more 
than  because  men  are  allowed  to  vote  there- 
fore their  business  and  families  must  suffer 
in  consequence.  Prudent  men,  when  they 
accept  offices  of  public  trust,  so  order  their 
business  arrangements  that  they  shall  be 
properly  attended  to  without  allowing  the  one 
to  interfere  with  the  other.  So  also  would 
prudent  women.  It  might  with  as  much  pro- 
priety be  argued  that  a  farmer  must  not  be 
permitted  to  accept  any  public  office,  not  even 
that  of  juryman,  because  the  acceptance  of  it 
might  call  him  from  home,  either  in  Spring- 
time or  harvest ;  nor  a  doctor  to  become  a 
candidate  for  public  honors,  lest  some  one 
might  be  sick  while  he  was  away,— as  to  argue 
that  a  woman  must  not  be  permitted  to  take 
an   active   part   in   public  affairs  because  the 

house  is  to  be  attended  to,  and  the  comfort 

12 


1 68 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


f  , 


M   ! 


and  well-being  of  her  husband  and  children 
provided  for.  Are  the  recognized  duties  and 
ordinary  occupations  of  women  necessarily  so 
all-engrossing  as  to  be  inconsistent  with  any 
other  demand  upon  their  time  or  thoughts ;  or 
of  so  much  graver  importance  than  the  duties 
which  men  owe  to  their  business  and  families, 
as  to  require  her  constant  presence  and  the 
entire  devotion  of  all  her  energies ;  while 
men,  who  have  families  and  large  business 
transactions  on  their  hands,  are  justified  in 
devoting  a  large  portion  of  their  time  and 
attention  to  other  objects,  whether  literature, 
science,  or  politics  ? 

There  is  no  more  honorable  position  on 
earth  than  that  of  a  wife,  possessing  the 
undivided  affection  of  a  good  husband,  sur- 
rounded by  an  orderly  and  interesting  fam- 
ily of  children.  Neither  is  there  a  more 
honorable  position  among  men  than  that  of  a 
husband,  possessing  the  undivided  affection 
cf  a  good  wife,  who  sympathizes  v/ith  him  in 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


169 


hildren 
les  and 
arily  so 
ith  any 
rhts ;  or 
e  duties 
families, 

and  the 
5 ;   while  • 

business 
stifled  in 
time  and 

iierature, 

sition  on 
Ising  the 
[and,  sur- 
ting  fana- 

a   more 
that  of  a 

affection 

|h  him  in 


his  every  care,  surrounded  by  a  family  of 
well-behaved,  intelligent  children.  A  well- 
regulated  household  is  a  picture  upon  which 
the  good  of  either  sex  love  to  look.  The 
responsibility  of  regulating  and  ordering  a 
household  properly,  devolves  equally  upon 
both  the  husband  and  wife.  It  can  not  be  a 
well-regulated  house  if  either  fails  to  share 
the  responsibility  equally.  Is  the  careful 
wife  and  mother,  then,  to  be  cut  off  from 
the  rights  of  citizenship  because  she  is  a  wife 
and  mother?  There  is  no  valid  reason  why 
an  intelligent  woman  should  not  be  permitted 
to  carry  the  weight  of  her  judicioi  ^  influence 
beyond  the  charmed  circle  of  he  aome,  any 
piore  than  that  she  should  not  be  permitted  to 
exercise  it  there.  Even  in  the  1  ited  sphere 
now  assigned  to  women,  man)  01  them  have 
proved  that  they  could  be  faithful  to  the  in- 
terests of  their  husbands  and  cnildren,  and 
yet  accomplish  much  for  the  benefit  of  the 
world  besides.     Admitting,  however — and  we 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


do  admit  it,  heartily — that  women  are  en- 
dowed with  peculiar  talents  for  the  manage- 
ment of  children,  and  men  are  better  fitted 
than  women  for  training  horses  or  maii.^ging 
swine, — which  occupation  requires  the  greater 
mental  culture  ?  Which  is  likely  to  do  the  most 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind  ?  The  proper  care 
for  her  children,  and  attention  to  them,  does 
not  necessarily  prevent  a  woman  from  attend- 
ing to  matters  of  public  utility  outside  of  her 
house. 

And  then  there  are  the  unmarried  women, 
who  were  referred  to  previously,  that  have  not 
these  household  claims  resting  upon  them. 
The  objection  concerning  the  neglect  of 
households  does  not  touch  their  cases  at  all ; 
for  they  have  neither  children  nor  husbands 
to  be  neglected.  That  unmarried  women, 
who  step  out  from  the  "private  sanctity  of 
their  homes,"  often  accomplish  much  good  by 
entering  on  the  so  much  censured  public 
career,  the  lives  of  Florence  Nightingale,  Miss 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


171 


are  en- 
manage- 
er  fitted 

laivging 
e  greater 

the  most 

Dper  care 

lem,  does 

n  attend- 

ide  of  her 


M'Pherson,  and  Miss  Dix,  if  there  were  no 
others,  amply  prove. 

It  is  argued  by  some  that,  if  women  would 
exercise  the  privilege  of  the  franchise,  she 
must  be  prepared  to  take  the  field  as  a  sol- 
dier, or  enter  the  navy,  as  circumstances 
might  require,  in  time  of  war.  History  in- 
forms us  that  women  have  given  valuable 
assistance  in  time  of  war,  even  taking  the 
field  and  fighting  nobly  1  n  cheir  country 
when  their  valor  was  needed ;  and,  in  our 
own  day,  there  is  on  record  an  instance  of  a 
woman  commanding  a  vessel  during  a  long 
voyage  over  exceedingly  dangerous  seas,  and 
bringing  it  successfully  into  the  desired  port. 
But  apart  from  this,  the  fact  is,  the  argument 
is  simply  used  as  a  bugbear  to  frighter  the 
timid  and  deter  them  from  claiming  theii  just 
position,  both  social  and  civil.  By  law,  cer- 
tain classes  of  men  are  exempt  from  war, 
except  in  extreme  cases,  so  that  by  no  means 
all    who    vote,   now,    are    expected    to    fight. 


172 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


!!;i;( 


t 


Then,  women  render  an  equivalent  to  the 
State,  and  risk  their  lives  in  doing  it,  quite 
as  much  as  soldiers  or  sailors ;  not,  however, 
in  destroying  human  life,  but  in  perpetuating 
it.  As  recruiting  agents,  therefore,  and  the 
first  drill-masters  or  instructors  of  the  mem- 
bers of  future  battalions,  they  serve  the  Gov- 
ernment as  effectually  as  any  standing  army. 

It  does  not  follow,  then,  that  as  a  conse- 
quence of  being  permitted  to  vote,  or  being 
admitted  to  other  privileges,  women  must 
load  the  cannon  or  wield  the  sword.  We 
wonder  if  the  originator  of  such  an  attempt 
at  intimidation  ever  heard  of  Joan  of  Arc  or 
Margaret  of  Anjou. 

It  is  claimed  that  women  are  unfit  for 
public  life  because — another  unproved  asser- 
tion— they  are  incapable  of  reasoning  logically 
or  speaking  fluently.  Women  have  had  but 
little  opportunity  afforded  them  for  public 
speaking ;  yet,  even  with  the  slight  advaatt* 
tages  which  they  have  possessed,  they  have 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


173 


proved  themselves  quite  as  capable  of  arriving 
at  a  high  standard  of  reasoning  or  oratory  as 
the  majority  of  the  opposite  sex.  Anna 
Dickinson  will  draw  a  full  house  in  any  city 
in  the  United  States  ;  and  disinterested  lis- 
teners (men)  have  pronounced  her  lectures 
unsurpassed,  in  close  reasoning  and  power  of 
fervid  eloquence,  by  any  male  lecturer  in  the 
Union.  But,  say  some,  all  women  are  not 
equally  gifted  ;  there  are  few  endowed  with 
the  talents  or  voice  of  Miss  Dickinson.  Just 
so ;  and  but  few  men  are  endowed  with  the 
talents  of  Theodore  Cuyler,  or  gifted  with  the 
versatile  wit  of  J.  B.  Gough ;  yet  other  men 
speak  in  public,  and  in  their  humbler  sphere 
render  the  State  good  service. 

The  various  Churches  have  not  done  what 
they  might  in  drawing  out  this  talent  in 
women,  and  using  it  for  the  good  of  the 
world.  Indeed,  while  quoting  and  straining 
the  writings  of  the  apostles  to  suit  their 
own    narrow   views,   those    who    have    given 


174 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


Mi      V: 


11      I 


V 


■,  ! 


1        t 


'  I  ■  i 


f  .    : 

>■  .;  ■■  . 

■1    ;  ■'  . 

.'  I'i' 

i'i  '■ 
ft*: 

t     ^     ■    . 


|i 


11 


Ipil!!"!' 


IllPllPi 


11  iili  I 


tone  to  the  various  branches  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  and  virtually  fixed  the  posi- 
tion of  women  therein,  have  wandered  far, 
very  far,  frou:  the  practice  of  the  Pauline 
days  with  regard  to  the  employment  of 
women  in  the  public  workings  of  the  Church, 
as  is  shown  by  a  comparison  of  the  present 
working  of  the  several  Christian  Churches 
with  the  sacred  records,  as  given  in  Acts 
and  the  Epistles  themselves. 

The  Society  of  Friends,  upon  examination, 
becoming  convinced  of  the  falsity  of  the 
reasoning,  assumed  to  be  predicated  upon  the 
Word  of  God,  that  there  was  inferiority  be- 
tween the  sexes,  and  not  believing  that  the 
assumption  was  borne  out  by  a  careful  pe- 
rusal of  the  Scriptures,  granted  perfect  equal- 
ity to  men  and  women  in  the  exercise  of 
religious  services.  Having  been  the  foremost 
religious  body  of  modern  times  in  granting 
liberty  of  speech  to  Christian  women,  they 
have   been   more   highly  honored   than   most 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


175 


Chris- 
posi- 
id   far, 
?auUne 
snt    of 
:hurch, 
present 
lurches 
11   Acts 

lination, 
of    the 
on  the 
Irity  be- 
hat  the 
ful   pe- 
lt equal- 
cise  of 
remost 
ranting 
|n,  they 
most 


other  denominations  in  the  number  of  gifted 
speakers  among  their  women. 

In  the  early  days  of  Methodism,  too,  women 
were  allowed  to  exercise  the  talent  for  public 
speaking,  with  which  God  had  endowed  them ; 
and  Dinah  Evans  and  Mrs.  Fletcher — the  one 
in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  the  other  a  lady 
of  position,  education,  ajid  refinement — stand 
forth  conspicuously  upon  the  pages  of  history, 
giving  evidence  that  the  ministry  of  Christian 
women  was  honored  by  God  in  leading  the 
wicked  to  forsake  their  unrighteous  ways.  As 
Methodism  became  older,  like  the  primitive 
Church,  it  departed  from  the  first  usage,  and 
as  a  consequence,  like  it,  it  lost  for  the  time 
a  powerful  agency  for  doing  good.  Latterly, 
however,  women,  especially  in  the  United 
States,  are  breaking  through  the  fetters — ec- 
clesiastical as  well  as  civil — which  have  so 
long  bound  them.  In  a  measure,  at  least, 
their  day  of  civil  and  religious  slavery  is  draw- 
ing to  a  close.      They  now  very  frequently 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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(716)872-4503 


^^^ 


176 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


M    .^!<-i| 


'    :!li|li!il 


!!  I 


II    I 


preside  and  speak  at  public  religious  meet- 
ings, and  are  admitted  by  candid,  well-informed 
men  to  be  quite  as  competent  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  a  presiding  officer,  or  to  present  the 
ideas  they  wish  to  convey  in  a  clear  and  log- 
ical manner,  as  any  of  the  learned  clergymen 
or  clear-headed  laymen  in  the  same  meeting. 
Some  of  the  most  eloquent  public  advocates 
of  the  missionary  enterprise  in  the  United 
States  are  earnest  Christian  women. 

In  the  halcyon  days  of  Queen  Victoria,  be- 
fore the  sad  bereavement  came  upon  her 
which  has  darkened  her  latter  years  and 
caused  her  to  retire  as  much  as  possible  from 
public  view — at  the  time  when  she  read  her 
own  speeches  from  the  throne — she  was  pro- 
nounced, by  competent  critics,  to  be  unsur- 
passed, as  a  reader,  by  any  elocutionist  in 
Europe. 

A  thoroughly  liberal  education,  and  the 
practice  of  conversing  with  persons  of  intelli- 
gence, renders  material  assistance  to  both  men 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


177 


and  women,  by  enabling  them  to  express  their 
thoughts  in  the  clearest  and  most  forcible 
language  possible;  and  the  same  thing  may 
be  remarked  of  declamation.  In  social  circles, 
where  men  and  women  of  average  mental  cul- 
ture meet  together,  there  is  no  perceptible 
difference  between  the  conversational  powers 
of  the  sexes.  Let  the  facilities  for  the  edu- 
cation of  men  and  women  once  be  made  equal 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  the  hack- 
neyed cry  of  her  mei.^tal  inferiority  will  be 
heard  of  no  more,  excepting  when  mentioned 
among  the  other  exploded  theories  of  the  Dark 
Ages  and  of  barbaric  times.  The  cramping 
of  the  mental  powers  of  women,  or  the  at- 
tempting to  cramp  them,  lest  they  might 
claim  equal  advantages  with  the  other  half  of 
the  race,  will  be  classed — and  justly  so — with 
the  cramping  of  women's  feet  by  the  Chinese, 
lest  they  might  claim  and  exercise  the  liberty 
of  walking  the  streets  at  pleasure,  as  their 
husbands  do.     A  woman   will    be   no   more 


II. 


!h!     !l" 


I't'         (i 


'      M   HIM 

iii.'iiiiii;!  I 


III 


>     li 


illljlllll 

N, 

-,  JIpl 
III  I 


178 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


expected  to  give  credence  to  every  thing  her 
husband  believes,  no  matter  how  absurd  the 
belief  may  be,  at  his  dictation,  because  he  is 
her  husband,  or  to  yield  implicit  obedience  to 
his  commands,  no  matter  how  tyrannical,  than 
she  will  be  to  follow  him  to  the  funeral  pyre. 
Already  ladies,  by  dint  of  untiring  industry 
and  perseverance,  have  mounted  to  honorable 
positions,  and  have  acquired  meritorious  fame 
as  artists,  both  in  painting  and  in  sculpture. 
Who,  in  our  times,  stands  higher  on  the  list 
of  artists  than  Rosa  Bonheur  or  Miss  Hos- 
mer }  In  the  study  of  medicine,  women  have 
been  met  by  the  most  scandalous  opposition 
and  insult  by  those  conservators  of  good  mor- 
als, male  medical  students.  Yet,  believing 
that  women  were  as  capable  of  acquiring  skil' 
in  the  healing  art  as  men,  and  that,  where  the 
peculiar  diseases  of  women  were  concerned, 
they  were  better  adapted  to  it,  and  that  there 
was  less  impropriety  in  their  attending  their 
own  sex  than  in  men  doing  so,  they  perse- 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


179 


vered,  and  have  won  for  themselves  honorable 
distinction.  That  women  have,  for  years, 
distinguished  themselves  in  connection  with 
medical  science,  may  be  seen  from  the  follow- 
ing interesting  historical  facts  presented  by 
Caroline  H.  Dall : 

Madame  Francoise,  the  midwife  of  Catha- 
rine de  Medici,  lectured  ably  to  students  of 
both  sexes.  James  Guillemeau  was  a  French 
surgeon  of  great  eminence,  who  died  in  1813  ; 
but  the  obstetrical  observations  which  gave 
value  to  his  books  were  contributed  by  Mad- 
ame Veronne.  It  was  to  the  Countess  of 
Cinchon,  and  the  influence  which  she  used 
at  every  court  in  Europe,  and  finally  at  the 
Court  of  Rome,  that  the  world  owed  the  use 
of  Peruvian  bark,  and  consequently  of  quinine. 
Its  early  name,  "Jesuit's  Bark,"  showed  one 
step  of  her  process.  (See  "Anastasis  Corticis 
Peruviani,  Seu  China  Defensis.")  Madame  Bre- 
ton patented  a  system  of  artificial  nourishment 
for  infants,  in  use  in  France  as  late  as  1830. 


■.i  tl- 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  in  the  year  1736, 
Elizabeth  Blackwell,  of  London,  published  a 
work  on  Medical  Botany.  It  was  in  three 
volumes,  folio,  well  illustrated,  and  was  the 
first  of  its  kind  in  any  country.  Madame 
Ducoudray,  born  in  Paris,  1712,  was  the  first 
lecturer  who  used  a  manikin,  which  she  her- 
self invented  and  perfected.  Physicians  per- 
sist in  ignoring  this  fact,  although  it  was  pub- 
licly approved  by  the  French  Academy  of 
Surgeons,  December  i,  1758. 

Morandi,  born  in  Bologna  in  17 16,  and 
Beheron,  born  at  Paris  in  1730,  invented  and 
perfected  the  use  of  wax  preparations  to  rep- 
resent diseases.  Beheron's  collection  was 
purchased  by  Catharine  II,  of  Russia,  and 
went  to  St.  Petersburg.  Hunter  acknowl- 
edged his  obligations  to  her.  Morandi's  col- 
lection, at  Bologna,  was  visited  and  purchased 
by  Joseph  II.  She  was  Professor  of  Anatomy 
at  the  university.  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Mon- 
tague introduced  inoculation  into  Europe ;  and 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


i8i 


r  1736, 
shed  a 
i  three 
vas  the 
vladame 
the  first 
she  her- 
ans  per- 
jvas  pub- 
iemy  of 

16,   aad 
I  ted  and 
Is  to  rep- 
lion    was 
^sia,   and 
Lcknowl- 
idi's  col- 
jurchased 

.natomy 

[ey  Mon- 

)pe ;  and 


the  intelligent  observation  of  a  farmer's  wife 
led  Dr.  Jenner  to  his  experiments  with  vaccine 
matter. 

The  services  of  regularly  qualified  lady  phy-. 
sicians  are  now  eagerly  sought,  not  only  in 
the  United  States,  where  they  in  later  times 
first  proved  their  capability,  but  also  in  for- 
eign countries.  Medical  universities,  the  sage 
faculties  of  which  once  frowned  with  scorn 
upon  "women  who  would  be  guilty  of  the 
indelicacy  of  pushing  themselves  into  the 
medical  profession,"  now  gladly  open  their 
doors  to  them;  the  more  candid  of  the  pro- 
fessors admitting  that  the  "indelicacy,"  not 
to  say  indecency,  is  upon  the  side  of  men  who 
would  push  themselves  into  the  sick-chamber 
of  a  woman,  and  make  inquiries  of  her  con- 
cerning symptoms  peculiar  to  her  sex,  when 
there  are  women  who  are  competent  to  attend 
to  her  case. 

Little  by  little  the  mists  of  superstition  and 
error,  incident  to  barbaric  times,  are  being 


liilr 


182 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


■<    i 


!iri!l!!l!!i 


liHi^i 


dispelled  by  the  genial  light  of  a  brighter  day. 
Even  now,  genteel  ignorance  is  not  esteemed 
the  acme  of  feminine  perfection,  except  by 
those  theorists  who  would  degrade  woman 
mentally,  that  they  themselves  may  thus  ac- 
quire so  much  a  higher  elevation — at  least  in 
their  own  imaginations — as  to  stand  to  them 
in  God's  stead,  or,  at  the  very  least,  to  be  a 
semi-deity  whose  superior  wisdom  is  to  be 
worshiped. 

The  facilities  for  acquiring  a  good  common 
education,  of  late  years  afforded  to  the  masses, 
in  which  there  was  not  so  wide  a  distinction 
-made  between  the  sexes  as  formerly,  have  ac- 
complished much  in  removing  old-time  prej- 
udices ;  as  the  searching  examinations  of  these 
public  schools  have  fairly  tested  the  capabili- 
ties of  both  boys  and  girls,  and  have  estab- 
lished the  fact  that,  with  equal  opportunities, 
the  girls  were  fully  equal  to  the  boys  in  mental 
ability  and  attainments.  Grudgingly,  girls 
have  been  allowed  to  enter  the  grammar  and 


I!    I 


! :'  I 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


183 


iter  day. 
steemed 

:cept  by 
woman 

thus  ac- 
t  least  in 
,  to  them 
,  to  be  a 
is   to  be 

[  common 
e  masses, 
listinction 
,  have  ac- 
ime  prej- 
s  of  these 
^  capabili- 
ve  estab- 
|ortunities, 
in  mental 
gly,    gir^s 
mmar  and 


higher  schools ;  and  here,  too,  by  their  profi- 
ciency, they  have  proved  their  right  to  enter. 
There  was  a  great  outcry  raised  when  the 
first  genuine  university  which  admitted  wo- 
men, allowed  them  to  pursue  precisely  the 
same  studies  as  young  men.  It  was  predicted 
that  almost  unheard-of  evils  would  ensue. 
Woman,  if  they  succeeded,  would  be  unfitted 
for  her  "sphere,"  and  become  unwilling  to 
soothe,  with  tender  hand,  the  suffering  and 
the  distressed,  etc.  The  wail  was  terrrific. 
The  experiment,  however,  succeeded.  Women 
not  only  commenced  a  real  collegiate  course, 
but  pursued  it  to  the  end,  graduating  with 
honors;  and,  despite  prophecy,  college-bred 
women  made  faithful  wives,  judicious  mothers, 
and  good  housekeepers.  A  cruel  war  ravaged 
the  fair  fields  of  a  portion  of  the  United  States, 
bringing  with  it  its  attendant  train  of  misery. 
What  was  the  employment  of  ladies  who  had 
graduated  in  universities  in  this  crisis  of  their 

country }    Had  their  knowledge  of  Latin  and 

13 


1 84 


WOMAN  MAN'S  LQUAL. 


i  0 


•')  '.i 


Mi 


Jiiiiiiii 


Greek  made  them  either  inefficient  or  hard? 
The  weary,  wounded » soldier  in  the  hospitals 
would  testify  that  the  kind  hand  of  an  edu- 
cated and  refined  woman  bathed  his  feverish 
temples,  while  her  gentle  voice  breathed  into 
his  ear  the  glad  tidings  of  a  peace  to  be  at- 
tained by  repentance  and  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Delicacies  were  needed  for  the 
invalid  soldiers,  and  were  not  to  be  bought 
for  money;  the  educated  woman,  side  by  side 
with  her  uneducated  sister,  bared  her  white 
arms  above  the  elbow,  and  molded  delicate 
pastry,  and  sealed  and  pickled  and  preserved 
as  diligently  and  as  deftly  as  if  she  had  never 
demonstrated  a  problem  in  Euclid  or  heard 
of  Sophocles.  In  what  way  had  women  be- 
come unfitted  for  their  sphere  by  a  liberal 
education  ?  In  no  way  whatever.  If  some 
highly  educated  women  are  inefficient  house- 
keepers, and  slatternly  in  their  persons,  so 
also  are  many  who  neither  know  how  to  read 
nor  write;  just  as  there  are  many  impracti- 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


185 


>r  bard? 
hospitals 
an  edu- 
5  feverish 
thed  into 
to  be  at- 
our  Lord 
ed  for  the 
be  bougbt 
de  by  side 
her  white 
jd  delicate 
preserved 
had  never 
i  or  heard 
omen  be- 
a  liberal 
If  some 
Lent  house- 
►ersons,  so 
iow  to  read 
impracti- 


cable, ineflficient,  and  slovenly  men  who  are 
highly  educated,  and  ignorant  men  who  arc 
also  incompetent  and  inefficient.  Education 
has  nothing  to  do  with  making  either  men  or 
women  inefficient ;  the  inefficient  would  be 
inefficient  to  the  end  of  time,  though  their 
minds  were  never  troubled  with  literature. 

No  fearful  calamity  having  ensued  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  admission  of  ladies  to  one 
university,  others  also  began  slowly,  and  with 
great  caution,  to  open  their  doors  to  them ; 
and  now  their  admission  on  the  same  footing 
as  their  brothers  to  the  same  universities,  and 
their  capability  to  complete  the  same  curricu- 
lum is  no  longer  an  experiment,  but  an  estab- 
lished fact.  Even  in  conservative,  staid  old 
England,  ladies  are  admitted  to  the  examina- 
tions at  Cambridge.  But  all  are  by  no  means 
open.  No :  there  are  those,  and  some  of  them 
men  of  sense  in  other  respects,  who  can  not 
come  down  from  the  lofty  pedestal  on  which 
they   have   placed   themselves,   and   are  not 


186 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


■Iff  liPlii'll 

El  i; 


I    h: 


I I 


f (     I 


i    I 


willing  to  allow  their  sisters  or  daughters  to 
mount,  lest  they  should  reach  their  side. 
These  sneer  and  frown,  and  prophesy  evil  just 
as  vehemently  as  did  narrow-minded  men  of 
the  same  class  fifty  or  twenty  years  ago;  and 
their  influence  will,  for  a  time,  keep  some  of 
the  colleges  closed  to  women.  But  this  is  a 
matter  of  little  consequence  now.  There  are 
universities  now  open  to  them  of  as  high  a 
literary  grade  as  those  which  are  closed  against 
them ;  and  consequently  they  may  drink  at 
will  at  the  fountain  of  knowledge,  despite  the 
sneers  and  frowns  of  those  who  would  prevent 
it  if  they  could,  but  happily  can  not  altogether. 
Though  there  is  still  much  fierce  opposition 
to  the  r'ovement  for  granting  them  equal  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  rights  and  privileges,  and  for 
allowing  them  to  compete  fairly  with  men  in 
business  transactions  or  in  the  learned  profes- 
sions ;  and  though  it  may  be  expected  that  this 
opposition  will  be  continued  for  some  time  to 
come, — ^yet  women   have  cause  for  thankful 


1 1 


WOMAN  AND  LEGISLATION. 


187 


rejoicing,  and  may  take  courage.  The  long 
night  of  their  bitter  servitude  is  nearly  over, 
the  dawn  of  better  days  is  beginning  to  tinge 
the  horizon ;  and  hope  may  now  be  entertained 
that  erelong  they  shall  occupy  the  position  to 
which  they  are  entitled,  as  man's  compeer — 
the  position  of  equality  with  him  in  all  the 
relations  of  life — and  enjoy  the  full  rights  and 
privileges  of  civilized  and  Christianized  citi^ 
zenship. 

The  morning  is  breaking. 


:^a3 


t  II  all!  I 


m 

III  I 
I? 


Mf 


^f 


fli 


i  'H 
1  fill. 


f     ^  > 


'  II 


II 


iiilll 


|iii!| 


!  ! 


I 

'  'ii 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

T  has  been  so  often  asserted  that 
women  are  incompetent  to  form  any 

'^  thing  like  correct  opinions  on  civil  or 
political  questions,  or  to  govern  with  discre- 
tion, even  when  by  chance  the  reins  are  com- 
mitted to  their  control  for  a  brief  season ;  and 
that  they  have  always  been  found  so ;  and, 
also,  that  they  are  naturally  incapable  of  a 
sufficiently  great  degree  of  mental  effort  to 
entitle  them  to  celebrity, — that  the  statement 
has  come  to  be  regarded  as  a  fact  by  the 
masses,  who  have  lacked  either  the  ability  or 
the  desire  to  investigate  the  matter.     With 

the  majority  of  men,  as  such  assertions  fos- 
i88 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        1 89 

tered  their  love  of  power,  and  the  idea  of 
their  own  self-consequence,  it  was  natural  for 
them  to  accept  them  without  question,  ao  un- 
doubted truth.  With  women,  untiljvitiurL4he 
)resent  century,  the  facilities  for  acqiiirlng^  an 
educatiojTiave  been  so  meagre  that,  except 
where  they  were  possessed  of  both  a  large  for- 
tune and  an  unlimited  amount  of  perseverance, 
they  had  slight  opportunities  for  acquiring  ac- 
curate information  on  that  or  any  other  subject. 
What  their  fathers,  husbands,  or  brothers  told 
them,  they  might  believe  if  they  chose;  for 
the  rest,  to  the  very  large  majority  of  women, 
history  was  a  sealed  book ;  so  that,  for  want  of 
correct  information,  they  were  not  in  a  position 
to  contradict  any  assertion,  however  extrava- 
gant, untruthful,  or  absurd  it  might  be. 

In  the  foregoing  pages  of  this  treatise,  it 
has  been  maintained  that  the  statements 
concerning  the  alleged  mental  inferiority  of 
women  are  untruthful ;  and  that  history,  both 
ancient  and  modern,  proves  them   to  be   so. 


IQO 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I  H 


I! 


H|i 


In  order,  therefore,  to  establish  this  proposi- 
tion more  fully,  the  following  sketches  have 
been  added,  giving  an  account  of  a  few  women 
eminent  for  the  founding  of  colonies,  for  pi- 
ety, for  patriotism,  and  for  attainments  in 
science,  literature,  and  arts ;  and  some,  alas ! 
for  wickedness. 

ELISA,    OR  DIDO,  FOUNDER   OF  CARTHAGE. 

Carthage,  one  of  the  most  noted  nations  of 
antiquity,  was  founded  by  a  woman,  and  flour- 
ished under  her  rule.  A  Tyrian  princess, 
Dido — or  Elisa,  as  she  is  indiscriminately 
named  in  history — wajs  in  jeopardy  from  the 
tyranny  and  oppression  of  an  unnatural 
brother,  who,  not  content  with  what  he  had 
inherited  from  his  father,  had  cast  covetous 
eyes  upon  the  immense  possessions  of  his 
sister's  husband,  whose  death  he  compassed. 
All  the  powers  of  mind  which  had  hitherto 
lain  dormant  within  her,  being  roused  by  the 
horrid  act  of  her  brother.  Dido  at  once  set 


i'l!  lil 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.       19I 


proposi- 
es  have 
r  women 
,  for  pi- 
lents  in 
ne,  alas ! 

ITHAGE. 

lations  of 
ind  flour- 
princess, 
iminately 
from  the 
unnatural 
he  had 
covetous 

,s  of  his 
ittipassed. 

hitherto 
:d  by  the 

once  set 


about  rescuing  her  treasure  from  his  grasp, 
and  her  retainers  from  his  unbridled  fury. 
Not  choosing  to  seek  protection  from  any  of 
the  princes  of  the  surrounding  countries,  and 
knowing  herself  to  be  unsafe  while  in  the 
vicinity  of  her  brother,  she,  as  speedily  as 
possible,  and  with  the  utmost  secresy,  gath- 
ered what  she  was  possessed  of  together,  and, 
with  her  followers,  embarked  in  search  of 
some  country  where  she  might  live  free  from 
tyranny  and  oppression.  Undaunted  by  the 
dangers,  real  and  imaginary,  which  beset  the 
paths  of  the  early  navigators  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  little  band  of  adventurers  pursued 
their  course,  steering  westward,  ever  west- 
ward ;  away  past  Egypt,  and  past  Libya,  until 
they  came  in  sight  of  a  peninsula  on  the 
northern  coast  of  Africa  hitherto  unknown  to 
history,  but  ever  afterward  to  be  famous  as 
the  landing-place  of  the  heroic  woman.  At  a 
point  only  a  short  distance  from  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Tunis,  Dido,  with  her  followers. 


192 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I:  i  iiiiliiif 

jIM         '-'I'll'! 

:•■  '   iiiliilliililli 


i    I 
1 1  iii 


established  herself;  not  taking  possession  of 
the  territory  on  which  she  set  her  foot,  as 
became  the  fashion  some  time  later,  but  pur- 
chasing it  from  the  natives  at  a  given  price. 
According  to  the  usage  of  the  times,  she  at 
once  set  about  founding  a  city ;  and  one  hun- 
dred years  before  the  founding  of  Rome — its 
after  rival  and  destroyer — the  work  of  building 
Carthage,  or  the  New  City,  as  Dido  named  it, 
began.  The  city  being  advantageously  situated 
for  commerce,  and  the  rule  of  Dido  more  mild 
than  that  of  Pygmalion,  her  brother,  hundreds 
of  the  Tyrians  flocked  to  her  standard.  These 
men  of  Tyre  brought  with  them  their  old 
home-love  of  commercial  enterprise  and  mari- 
time adventure ;  and,  in  a  marvelously  short 
time,  Carthage  took  high  rank  among  the  na- 
tions of  the  world ;  and  it  was  conceded,  by 
one  of  the  most  renowned  philosophers  of 
Greece,  that  it  enjoyed  one  of  the  most  perfect 
governments  of  antiquity. 

It  is  told  of  Dido,  that  she  was  not  only 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY. 


193 


capable  and  brave,  but  also — like  many  of  the 
opposite  sex — somewhat  sharp  in  a  bargain  ; 
and  that  she  tricked  the  Africans  into  giving 
her  more  territory  than  they  designed  doing. 
The  story  is — though  it  is  not  generally  be- 
lieved— that  having  bargained  with  the  natives 
for  as  much  land  as  an  ox-hide  would  encom- 
pass, she  cut  it  up  into  the  smallest  possible 
strips,  and  by  this  means  made  it  capable  of 
surrounding  a  large  extent  of  ground  ;  and,  as 
a  bargain  is  a  bargain,  she  gained  possession 
of  the  inclosure  by  agreeing  to  pay  an  annual 
tribute  for  it.  But  whether  or  not  this  rather 
improbable  story  be  true,  avarice  and  tyranny 
on  the  part  of  a  brother  seems  to  have  roused 
the  dormant  power  in  Dido's  nature  ;  and  the 
indomitable  perseverance,  fortitude,  and  fac- 
ulty for  government  displayed  by  the  outraged 
woman,  were  the  forces  which  brought  about 
the  founding  of  a  powerful  nation.  King  Pyg- 
malion is  only  remembered  because  he  was 
the  brother  of  the  illustrious  Queen  Dido. 


194 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


CLEOPATRA. 


h" 


lliiliil 


i'lii:!    .m 


■llkh:    : 


The  character  of  Cleopatra  'forms  a  striking 
contrast  to  that  of  Dido,  in  many  particulars : 
the  one  the  first  princess  and  founder  of  a 
nation  destined  to  live  in  history  ages  after 
it  had  ceased  to  exist ;  the  other  the  last 
princess  of  a  land  equally  famed  in  story, 
whose  kingdom  was  to  suffer  extinction,  in  a 
great  measure  in  consequence  of  her  vices — 
not  because  she  was  too  weak  to  sway  the 
scepter,  but  because  she  was  too  wicked  to 
rule  justly. 

The  last  representative  of  the  dynasty  of 
the  Ptolemies,  she  seemed  to  possess  an  unv 
due  share  of  the  evil  propensities  of  an  evil 
race ;  and,  with  this,  the  gift  of  rare  beauty, 
added  to  very  winning  manners  and  remark- 
able powers  of  fascination.  In  her  constitu- 
tion was  blended  a  dangerous  combination  of 
varied  charms  and  varied  vices.  The  learning 
of  the  Egyptian  schools  she  had  mastered ; 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        I95 


L  striking 
rticulars : 
ider  of  a 
Lges  after 
the   last 
in   story, 
:tion,  in  a 
er  vices — 
sway  the 
wicked  to 


there  were  none  of  the  then  modern  accom- 
plishments of  which  she  had  not  made  herself 
mistress ;  wealth  and  regal  honors  were  hers ; 
and  yet  what  a  sad  picture  she  presents ! 
Evil  passions  were  allowed  to  rankle  in  her 
breast  unchecked,  till  she  became  one  of  the 
vilest  creatures,  in  a  country  become  the 
vilest  and  basest  of  nations.  The  powers  of 
mind  with  which  she  was  endowed,  used  for 
the  benefit  of  her  country,  might  have  been 
the  means  of  its  salvation ;  but  instead  of 
appealing  to  the  patriotism  of  her  people — if, 
indeed,  they  then  possessed  any — she  chose 
rather  to  court  the  favor  of  the  rising  Roman 
general,  and  gain  by  flattery  and  crime  what 
might  have  been  denied  to  virtue.  Though 
her  kingdom  was  in  danger,  and  her  own 
position  and  the  inheritance  of  her  children 
were  at  stake,  she  reveled  in  sinful  pleasure 
with  the  enemy.  By  the  power  of  her  charms, 
she  effected  a  compromise  with  the  first 
Caesar,  which  left  her  in  possession  of  Egypt ; 


nil, 

ml 


If  S » 


«f 


';r|! 


1   , 


i'   'Mil  I     Hil 


II '!  ''''IllilJI 


illiillll  !M 


196 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


but  not  on  honorable  terms.  How  could 
terms,  dictated  on  the  one  side  and  agreed  to 
on  the  other  by  base  passion,  be  aught  but 
shameful  and  humiliating? 

Caesar  in  the  west,  and  the  Roman  legions 
far  away,  Cleopatra  paid  no  more  regard  to 
the  treaty  between  them  than  if  it  had  never 
been  made.  Such  a  violation  of  contract  the 
Romans  never  forgave ;  and  Mark  Antony, 
who  had  striven  to  rise  to  the  supreme  power 
after  the  assassination  of  Julius  Caesar,  as 
soon  as  he  had  leisure  from  his  other  ambi- 
tious schemes,  bent  his  steps  toward  Egypt, 
to  punish  the  faithless  queen.  Again  she 
had  recourse  to  her  personal  charms.  The 
stern  but  vicious  general,  though  in  name  a 
conqueror,  became  an  easy  victim  of  her 
wiles ;  and  was  himself  in  fact  the  conquered 
one.  If  Cleopatra  had  been  Mark  Antony's 
most  bitter  foe,  she  could  not  more  surely 
have  lured  him  on  to  utter,  hopeless  ruin. 

At  last,  the  crisis  came.     Augustus  Caesar 


woman   tried  her  .  ^^   ^^  wretched 

outh    J  \       r^'"'  '' '^'^'--tion  ;  but 
'  ^"'^    sprighthness    were    „ 

'^-'^d  to  captivate  Augustus  K.  I  ''' 

-»ners.  or  .ove  hin^  ^a  L    7  """'"^ 

'^'---     "er  power,  she   eaJratlaT'^^ 

^°- .-but  grace  his  triumph        tr 
--  determined  she  would  not    As  f  ' 

queen  she  had  lived  •  a,  .        "'°''"''' 

The  deadly  asp  7   '  '''  "°"'''  '^'«- 

-^ioner  of  heT  w   rr''  '"^"^  "^^  -e- 

vic.orcam    t:taTt,r^"-"'^-''-ti. 

'"•™  -  a  part  oTL-Xr'Te  T"  ^" 
work  accomplished.  Cleopatra  u  ""'  ''^ 
wiles  no  more.  ''°"'''  ''y  ^er^ 

Here  was  a  woman  who,  by  her  .h    • 
and    tact  and  a  ^,    •  ^         adroitness 

ana  a  passionate  will    w;^u  j 
almost   incredible   power   nv  '^  ^" 

greatest  men  of  that  al      T  """  °'   ''^ 

"■">-  her  influenct  Id'  fl  "  ^'^  '^°"^''' 

'    ""  '""^  years  led  them 


198 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


*  'F 


i  .. 


whither  she  would,  according  to  the  whim 
which  possessed  her.  Which  was  the  weaker 
mentally,  Mark  Antony  or  Cleopatra.^  It  is 
for  the  historical  student  to  determine  for 
himself.  In  licentiousness,  they  certainly 
were  on  a  par. 

LUCRETIA. 

Contrast  the  dei^ravity  of  the  wretched 
Cleopatra  with  the  virtue  of  Lucretia,  wife  of 
Collatinus,  a  distinguished  Roman.  Beautiful 
and,  for  the  time  in  which  she  lived,  highly 
accomplished,  she  was  the  idol  of  her  husband. 
Loving  and  faithful  to  him,  and  attentive  to 
the  ordering  of  her  household,  she  was  pro- 
nounced a  model  Roman  dame.  Virtue  was 
pre-eminently  a  characteristic  of  the  Roman 
matron.  A  heartless  libertine,  annoyed  that 
Lucretia  should  stand  so  high,  and  fired  by 
wine  and  evil  passion,  determined  to  accom- 
plish her  downfall ;  and,  while  she  was  help- 
lessly in  his  power,  effected  his  vile  purpose. 


I  i 


PORTIA. 

Like  Lucretia.  Portia  was  a  P.^ 
°f  "'>l>'e  iineage.  and  stiU  no^^''  "'"^°" 
"""d.     The   daughter   of   C  !  '"  °^ 

Brutus,  it  was  her  Zbl  '"'  "''^  •"■ 

worthy  of  such  a  '°  "'■"^^  ''^-^'f 

-d.aLthepaJir^"'^''^''-^-'.- 
-Mected  herse'r:  TT  "' ^'^  '^^  ^'^ 
P^y^'ca.  ordea..  i„  olrV tlT  ^^  ''^"'' 

en;ura„ce.Havingestahh-sh:         ;:::r°: 

-  doubt  that  she  was  fully  equal  „  H  '"'"' 

■"   fortitude   and   strenl  ".  !"' 
•'-me  his  confidant  and  co  "'"'  ''' 

h«   trials  and   „,isfor  J.  "^'°^^''-<- 

""^fortunes  as  readily  as  she 


iT'^lfT' 


200 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


1 ,' 


M 


11     i 


m 


iilll! 


ii-  m m 


ji 


u:'  ^  ■'! 


had  shared  his  prosperity.  The  ambition  of 
Brutus,  together  with  the  jealous  rivalries  of 
the  time,  effected  his  ruin  ;  and,  finding  his 
case  hopelessly  desperate,  he  caused  himself 
to  be  mortally  wounded,  and  expired  shortly 
after.  Portia  had  been  so  fondly  attached  to 
her  husband  that  her  friends  feared  she  would 
determine  not  to  survive  him,  and  in  conse- 
quence took  measures  to  prevent  her  from 
taking  her  own  life ;  but  she  foiled  all  their 
prudent  forethought  by  swallowing  a  handful 
of  live  coals.  Faithful  to  her  husband  to  the 
last,  according  to  her  idea  of  fidelity,  one  can 
but  lament  that  .she  had  not  the  knowledge 
of  a  purer  faith  than  that  of  paganism.  She 
was  worthy  of  a  better  fate  and  brighter  age. 

ZENOBIA. 

LucRETiA  and  Portia  adorned  private  life, 
and — except  in  the  manner  of  their  respective 
deaths — were  model  matrons,  the  equals  of 
their  husbands  in  integrity  and  understanding. 


Zenobia  takes  a  somewhat  higher  rank    thn     k 
no  more  virtuous -that  h„  '       "^'' 

"he  was   called    I     "'"' . '''^'"ff  ""Pos^iWe- V 

^i'Terent  sp lerl      rTT.  '''  '""^"'^  ■"  « 
claimed  desceT;  f         !'"■"'"  ^^■•^'  ^he 

of  Egypt     In  H  "'  ''''^^''°'"-  '''"»- 

"f  the   Latin,    Greek    p!  '  ^  ""'"""^ 

literature.  ^^P"""'  ^"<^   Sy^iac 

She  took  an  active  nart  in  *u 

of  learning  an^  '''^  Promotion 

naming  and  even  rnmr%;i  j 

,    OHenta.  history  .r  he  t    ,:  ''^7  '' 

'''e  gem  or  the  desert,  wa;  Wed  t"r 
sessing  such  a  princess      A    u  ^  '" 

I»"»;  b«.  here  ,1,,  „„„.,      ""•"•■  Cleo- 

»" ..  i™.„.  j;:  ;;"■""  ""■«'■  =■>= 

^'lenathus.  a  man  who  had  risen 


n 


;*3 
( 


) 


J 


;l 


!     ,  i 


m 


i    ' 

II 

\l        iii'ifpii 

III  I'll  1 

1       |l 

■  :' 

1 

! 
i 

.  ^  11  II 

'1 

V: 

1;  :r,,j 

i^iijiiiiii 


m 


202* 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


from  an  obscure  position  to  the  highest  rank 
in  the  land.  An  intrepid  general,  he  had  not 
only  subdued  the  neighboring  tribes  of  the 
desert,  but  had,  in  a  measure,  humbled  the 
haughty  Persian  king,  and  avenged  the  cruelty 
practiced  upon  the  unfortunate  Valerian,  which 
the  dissensions  among  the  Romans  prevented 
them  from  doing  themselves,  and  had  made 
himself  master  of  the  dominion  of  the  East. 
In  Zenobia  he  found  a  true  helpmeet.  She 
inured  herself  to  hardships  in  order  that  she 
might  accompany  her  husband  in  his  hazard- 
ous undertakings,  and  assist  him  by  her  coun- 
sels or  cheer  him  by  her  presence.  To  her 
prudence  and  fortitude  Odenathus  owed  much 
of  his  success,  both  as  a  general  and  a  mon- 
arch; so  that  in  a  few  years,  from  the  small 
possessions  adjoining  Palmyra,  he  had  ex- 
tended his  territory  from  the  Euphrates  to 
the  frontiers  of  Bithynia.  During  the  inter- 
vals between  the  wars  in  which  he  engaged 
from  time  to  time,  he  spent  much  of  his  lei- 


m'    ■  ;■ 


^MOUS  WOMEN  OP  .^„,,„^       303 

casion  .;;•  J  rr r';''  ^'^"  *^«  - 

For  years   .v  1  ''''  °^  "'^''-  ^^oops- 

-^  ^^e  e„.Ve  .espo:!:  ^J^/^^-^' 

ment  devolved  unnn  7      u-  Govern- 

"ea  upon  Zenobia  alone     Tl,»  r. 
mans,  now  P-mu,„  ,^  ■*  "^  R'^- 

ow  grown  stronger  than  they  had  h. 

for  some  time  after  the  defeat  o7v^ 

d'sputedtherightofthewidTofod     T 
to, assume  the  rein.  „f  Odenathus 

0- .enerals  to      ::  rr"'  ^"'^  ^^"' 

::vr  -  -eat  With  thtrs^rhii' 

army,    his    mortification   af   r?«r        . 

— d  By  the  fact  that  h     h^l      "k'   ^"■ 
by  a  woman.  '^  ''^^"  ''^aten 

By  judicious   tact    sh^  ,ff    u    , 

-"iects  and  her  soid  ers        h  '""   ''^^ 

-arged   the   borders         h      tj'"'''  '"' 

--■'^erably.      Even    E    'pM"";"   "^' 

-^o^Pc   yielded    to    her 


204 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I,f  i '*'! 


1  'i 


iiiiil 


mv\ 


prowess,  and  haughty  Persia  solicited  an  alli- 
ance with  her.  She  was,  in  fact,  as  powerful 
as  any  of  the  Eastern  potentates,  if  hot  the 
most  powerful.  No  petty  passion  or  malice 
was  allowed  to  mark  her  conduct  in  the  treat- 
ment of  her  subjects.  The  good  of  her  coun- 
try was  her  principal  object  in  government, 
and  for  the  good  of  the  State  she  would  for- 
give, or  at  least  not  punish,  a  personal  injury. 
And,  though  surrounding  herself  with  all  the 
splendors  of  royalty,  she  yet  managed  the 
financial  affairs  of  her  realm  with  economy. 

But  the  prosperity  of  her  kingdom,  and  her 
own  success  as  a  sovereign,  only  increased 
the  envy  and  resentment  of  the  Romans.  Au- 
'  relian  had  gained  the  supreme  power  in  Rome, 
and,  once  established  in  his  authority,  he  de- 
termined to  make  good  the  old  boast — once 
so  true — that  Rome  was  mistress  of  the  world. 
Zenobia  was  a  powerful  rival,  and  her  he  de- 
termined to  humble.  Finding  her  kingdom 
menaced  by  so  powerful  a  foe,  she  set  herself 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        20$ 

to  defend  it,  and  met  the  approaching  enemy 
a  hundred  miles  from  her  capital.  Here  the 
tide  of  fortune  turned  against  the  hitherto 
prosperous  queen.  In  two  successive  battles 
she  suffered  defeat,  and  then  she  shut  herself 
up  in  Palmyra,  hoping  to  starve  Aurelian  into 
leaving  her  in  peace;  but  his  star  was  yet  in 
the  ascendant,  the  last  obstacle  was  overcome, 
and  Palmyra  fell. 

Zenobia,  with  some  of  her  attendants,  fled ; 
but  was  overtaken  and  brought  back  a  pris- 
oner, destined  to  grace  the  triumph  of  her 
conqueror.  She  who  had  for  more  than  five 
years  ruled  a  powerful  nation  so  nobly  and  so 
well,  was  henceforth  to  be  subjected  to  the 
indignities  of  a  captive. 

With  Zenobia,  fell  the  dominion  of  the  East, 
and  its  once  beautiful  capital  dwindled  into 
insignificance. 

HYPATIA. 

Rather  more  than  a  century  had  passed 
since    the   subjugation    of    Zenobia    and  her 


'4  '  ■■•^  1 1 


206 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


hi  . 


Empire  by  pagan  Rome,  when  Hypatia,  the 
philosopher  of  Alexandria,  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  then  civilized  world  by  her  marvel- 
ous talents  and  varied  accomplishments.  The 
daughter  of  Theon,  the  celebrated  mathema- 
tician of  Alexandria,  she  possessed  unusual 
facilities — for  a  woman — for  acquiring  knowl- 
edge ;  and  especially  for  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  abstruse  sciences.  Of  these  facilities 
she  availed  herself  with  commendable  earnest- 
ness ;  and  at  an  early  age  she  had  made  her- 
self mistress  of  both  Geometry  and  Astronomy, 
as  far  as  either  science  was  then  understood 
or  taught  in  any  of  the  schools.  As  is  the 
case  with  less  profound  natures,  the  mind  grew 
on  what  it  fed  upon ;  reasoning,  and  the  eluci- 
dation of  knotty  mathematical  problems,  be- 
came her  delight ;  and,  by  general  consent, 
she  ranked  as  one  of  the  first  philosophers  of 
her  time,  if  not  indeed  the  very  first. 

It  has  often  been  asserted  that  the  posses- 
sion of  great  mental  power  unfits  the  woman 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        20/ 


.tia,  the 
e  atten- 
marvel- 
:s.    The 
lathema- 
unusual 
r  knowl- 
:quainted 
;  facilities 
5  earnest- 
pade  her- 
itronomy, 
dersicood 
s  is  the 
ind  grew 
Ithe  eluci- 
llems,  be- 
consent, 
phers  of 

[e  posses- 
ie  woman 


possessing  it  for  the  common  amenities  of  life. 
That  it  does  not  necessarily  do  any  thing  of 
the  kind,  is  sufficiently  evidenced  in  the  life  of 
Hypatia.  Though  elevated  to  the  very  pinnacle 
of  fame,  in  consequence  of  her  mental  attain- 
ments, she  was  nevertheless  gentle  and  cour- 
teous in  her  manners,  toward  those  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded.  She  was  very  b  -..utiful, 
yet  without  vanity ;  indeed,  true  strength  of 
mind  precludes  the  idea  of  vanity,  for  few  but 
the  mentally  weak  are  vain  ;  and  she  was  as 
chaste  as  she  was  mentally  strong  and  phys- 
ically beautiful. 

Convinced  of  her  superior  merits,  the  au- 
thorities of  the  School  of  Philosophy  in  which 
Plotinus  and  his  successors  had  expounded 
their  theories,  importuned  her  to  become  pre- 
ceptress therein  ;  and,  overcoming  her  natural 
diffidence,  she  consented.  Thenceforth,  in- 
stead of  the  frivolous  adornments,  considered 
too  foolish  to  be  worn  by  men,  but  quite  fitting 
and  bc'^oming  for  women,  she  was  arrayed  in 


I}  irlt 


h 


208 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


the  cloak  of  the  philosopher,  and  took  her 
proper  position  as  head  of  the  most  noted 
school  in  a  city  distinguished  as  the  chief  seat 
of  learning  of  that  age.  As  a  public  speaker — 
for  her  lectures  were  not  altogether  confined 
to  her  school — she  was  fluent.  Her  elocution 
may  be  said  to  have  been  faultless,  and  her 
manner  of  address  pleasing ;  and  these,  com- 
bined with  the  very  remarkable  amount  of 
information  which  she  was  capable  of  convey- 
ing in  her  lectures,  drew  crowds  of  warm 
admirers  and  enthusiastically  devoted  students 
to  listen  to  her. 

Was  it  possible  that  one  so  gifted,  so  beau- 
tiful and  pure,  could  arouse  malicious  envy,  or 
make  an  enemy  by  the  exercise  of  talents  God 
had  given  her }  " 

Ah,  yes !  She  knew  more  than  Cyril — a 
professedly  Christian  bishop,  who  then  filled 
the  patriarchal  chair.  Thenceforth  she  was 
marked  as  his  prey. 

Allied  to  the  State,  the  Church  had  lost  its 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.       20g 


k  her 

noted 
ef  seat 
aker — 
Dnfined 
3Cution 
ind  her 
,e,  com- 
3unt  of 
convey- 
f  warm 

tudents 

so  beau- 
envy,  or 
nts  God 

;yril — a 
jn  filled 
ihe  was 

lost  its 


purity,  and  become  the  bitterest  of  perse- 
cutors ;  and  Cyril  was  one  of  the  bitterest  of 
these.  The  Jews  had  enjoyed  a  degree  of 
liberty  in  Alexandria,  which  latterly  had  been 
denied  them  elsewhere ;  and  this  the  haughty 
spirit  of  the  arrogant  bishop  could  not  brook ; 
and,  assuming  that  his  power  as  an  ecclesi- 
astic was  in  consequence  superior  to  the  civil 
authority,  he,  after  treating  the  Jews  with 
most  outrageous  cruelty,  banished  them  from 
the  city.  The  Jews  had  been  allowed  to  in- 
habit Alexandria  from  the  time  of  its  founda- 
tion, and  had  materially  contributed  to  its 
prosperity ;  therefore,  the  civil  authorities  were 
not  willing  to  see  them  suffer  such  indignities 
without  raising  their  voice  against  the  oppress- 
ive act.  Orestes,  Prefect  of  the  city,  appealed 
to  the  emperor  on  their  behalf.  He,  tram- 
meled with  his  Church  connections,  and  yet 
not  wishing  to  break  with  the  prefect,  declined 
to  interfere  in  the  matter,  thus  leaving  them 
to  settle  the  dispute  by  themselves ;  and  soon 


Ir^r;, 


210 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


f  ■■ 


ir.n 


!'.; 


f  . 


i , 


■   ]■•. 


I'll  111 


the  ecclesiastics  and  the  citizens  joined  issue. 
Orestes,  being  attacked  by  a  party  of  monks 
as  he  was  peaceably  pursuing  his  way  through 
the  streets  in  his  carriage,  was  succored  by 
the  citizens,  who  came  to  his  relief;  and  in 
the  affray  a  monk  was  taken  prisoner,  whom 
the  justly  exasperated  Orestes  ordered  to  be 
executed.  The  sentence  was  carried  into 
effect,  and  Cyril  caused  the  name  of  the 
would-be  murderer  to  be  enrolled  among  the 
martyrs. 

Hypatia  was  neither  Jew  nor  Christian  ;  but 
her  love  of  truth  and  justice  caused  her  to 
espouse  the  side  of  the  persecuted  victims  of 
ecclesiastical  tyranny.  She  had  previously 
been  the  object  of  Cyril's  bitter  hatred,  be- 
cause her  mental  attainments  were  superior  to 
his  own.  Now,  that  hatred  was  intensified  to 
the  highest  degree  of  malignity.  She  had 
openly  and  boldly  censured  the  conduct  of 
the  bishop,  and  was  deemed  the  friend  of 
Orestes ;    therefore  she    must   die.      Having 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        211 


ed  issue. 
)f  monks 
J  through 
cored  by 
;   and  in 
ler,  whom 
;red  to  be 
rried    into 
ne  of   the 
among  the 

istiari ;  but 

^ed   her   to 

victims  of 

previously 

latred,  be- 
Isuperior  to 
[tensified  to 
She  had 

:onduct  of 
friend   of 

I.      Having 


committed  no  crime,  she  could  not  be  brought 
before  the  civil  tribunal  for  condemnation ; 
therefore,  as  her  death  had  been  determined 
upon,  murder  was  the  next  resort. 

She  was  surrounded  and  seized  by  a  mob 
in  the  interest  of  Cyril,  as  she  was  one  day 
returning  from  her  school,  and  hurried  into 
the  Caesarian  church,  where  she  was  brutally 
murdered,  every  barbarity  being  practiced 
upon  her  which  monks  were  capable  of  invent- 
ing, even  to  tearing  her  limb  from  limb,  and 
afterward  burning  her ;  and  Cyril,  if  indeed 
he  did  not  sanction  the  murder  by  his  actual 
presence  while  it  was  being  committed,  sanc- 
tioned the  horrid  deed  by  his  protection  of 
the  perpetrators  when  the  infuriated  populace 
would  have  avenged  her  death. 

Thus  tragic  was  the  end  of  one  of  the 
most  highly  gifted  women  the  world  has  ever 
produced.  She  flourished  in  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Theodosius  II,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  fifth  century. 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 

The  record  of  the  Famous  Women  of  An- 
tiquity might  be  lengthened  out  indefinitely : 
Cornelia,  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  so  fa- 
mous in  Roman  history  ;  Octavia,  the  deeply 
injured  wife  of  Mark  Antony;  Eudosia,  the 
wife  of  Theodosius,  with  her  equally  famous 
sister-in-law,  Pulcheria  ;  the  Aspasia  of  Peri- 
icles,  who  is  represented  by  some  writers  as 
having  composed  many  of  the  orations  given 
to  the  world  as  those  of  her  husband ;  the 
Aspasia  of  Cyrus,  so  famous  for  her  gentle 
modesty  and  wise  counsels ;  and  Mariamne, 
the  last  and  most  unfortunate  princess  of 
the  illustrious  line  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
wife  of  the  monster,  Herod  the  Great.  Each 
of  these,  to  do  justice  to  their  merits,  or  to 
the  transactions  which  rendered  them  famous, 
would  require  a  biography.  The  mere  men- 
tion of  their  names  must  suffice  just  here. 
Who  has  not  read  or  heard  of  Sappho,  the 
Greek  poetess,  concerning  whose  life  and 
moral    character    there    has    been    so    much 


FAMOUS  WOMEN  OF  ANTIQUITY.        213 

controversy — one  class  of  writers  condemning 
in  unstinted  measure,  as  all  and  utterly  vile ; 
the  other  class  applauding  her  as  being  pos- 
sessed of  every  virtue  ?  Says  one  of  the 
latter :  *'  In  Sappho,  a  warm  and  profound 
sensibility,  virgin  purity,  feminine  softness, 
and  delicacy  of  sentiment  and  feeling,  were 
combined  with  the  native  probity  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  iEolian  character ;  and,  al- 
though endued  with  a  fine  perception  of 
the  beautiful  and  brilliant,  she  preferred 
genuine  conscious  rectitude  to  every  other 
source  of  human  enjoyment."  It  is  probable 
a  medium  between  these  two  extremes  would 
give  the  true  character  of  this  remarkable 
woman. 

Many  scores  of  names,  besides  those  given, 
might  be  added  to  the  list  of  eminent  women ; 
but  the  examples  cited  suffice  to  prove  the 
assertion  made — so  far  as  the  women  of  an- 
tiquity are  concerned — that  they  were  capable 
of  an  equal  amount  of  mental  effort  with  the 


'  if 


1     :ltl 


214 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


men  with  whom  they  were  contemporarj ; 
and  that,  where  they  arose  to  the  supreme 
power,  they  governed  as  wisely  and  as  well 
as  the  kings  of  the  same  period. 


!  !  ■ ' ; 


Ui 


CHAPTER   IX. 

now  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
;"'   ""''»-"  of   modern    times   have 

have  in  ,  """^  °'  "'"^'  °^  -"«'   they 

I'ave  m  any  way  accomphshed.  ^ 

COUNTESS  OP  MONTFORT 

Pnnce  in  Europe  w      t^?"  ^"^^  ^^"3^ 

^-ediate  nei/hhor    ndZlrrT  '" 
when  ties  of  hi.  ^  ^         '""''"'  ^"^ 

feuds     h.  ''""''  °"'^  *"  '"'ensify 

'euds,  there  arose  two  claimants  for  th.      • 

^■Pahty  of  Brittany.      The  Co  '"''"" 

fort,  half-brother  of  thelt  A        :'"'"" 

„  'ast  duke,  and  Charles 


IS 


215 


m 


210 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


m  ii 


I-  i 


of  Blois,  were  the  rivals ;  and  each  prosecuted 
his  claim  with  vigor.  The  army  of  Charles 
laid  siege  to  Nantz,  in  which  Montfort  hap- 
pened to  be,  and  from  which  he  found  it 
impossible  to  escape. 

Here  was  a  dilemma.  The  partisans  of 
Montfort  were  without  an  efficient  leader; 
and  his  chances  of  gaining  what  he  claimed 
were  exceedingly  doubtful.  In  this  crisis  of 
his  affairs,  however,  an  unexpected  diversion 
was  made,  which  changed  the  current  of  for- 
tune. His  wife,  Jane  of  Flanders,  now 
Countess  of  Montfort,  had  hitherto  limited 
.,  her  administrative  abilities  to  the  careful 
management  of  her  domestic  concerns ;  and, 
it  is  to  be  supposed,  was  not  deemed  capable 
of  a  thought  beyond.  The  tidings  of  the 
virtual  captivity  of  her  husband  roused  in  her 
a  determination  to  defend  what  she  consid- 
ered to  be  his  rights,  since  he  was  unable  to 
defend  them  himself 

She  was  at  the  time  residing  at  Rennes, 


^ 


at  Rennes, 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMKS.  ,,7 

the  inhabitants  of  which  ,h» 

--bled,   and    „,ade      „ ^  ^T  '' 

^^^-^    had    befallen    their  2  '''" 

infant  son  sh^  „  sovereign.      Her 

"  sue  presented  bpfni-»  *i, 
'^«'  of  an  illustrious  line      Ju  "'  '''" 

«'inct  unless  his    a  re's   f       "'"  '"°"'^ 

^^e    with    her       Tk  ^'^^  O'* 

*v  >    out,   fearing-   that   ^u^ 

not  sufficiently  strnno-  .  ^   "^^^ 

>^  stiong  to  cope  with  Ch.  i 
wlio  was  backed   hv  .k  Charles, 

provnice  in   th^^   k«  ..  ^    ^^^ 

at  Mennebonne,  where  she 


*ili 


w 


r'? 


2l8 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


awaited  the  issue  of  events ;  having  first  sent 
her  son  to  England,  that  he  might  be  out 
of  danger. 

In  the  mean  time,  Charles  of  Blois  was  not 
inactive.  Hennebonne  was,  of  itself,  too  im- 
portant a  fortress  to  be  overlooked ;  and,  be- 
sides that,  the  heroic  countess  was  there.  If 
he  could  take  the  city  and  make  prisoner  its 
defender,  his  cause  would  be  gained.  With 
both  the  count  and  his  wife  in  his  power,  he 
would  be  sure  of  the  succession.  Accord- 
ingly, before  the  supplies  which  Edward  was 
sending  could  reach  Hennebonne,  he  laid 
siege  to  it ;  but  did  not  find  its  capture  so 
easy  a  matter  as  he  had  expected. 

The  besieged  made  frequent  sallies,  in 
which  the  enemy  lost  both  men  and  reputa- 
tion, though  they  were  not  compelled  to  raise 
the  siege.  On  one  of  these  occasions  the 
return  of  the  countess  was  intercepted,  and 
she  found  it  impossible  to  regain  the  fortress. 
Nothing  daunted  she  commanded  her  men  to 


M 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


219 


rst  sent 
be  out 

was  not 
too  inl- 
and, be- 
here.     If 
Lsoner  its 
:d.    With 
power,  he 
Accord- 
ward  was 
he   laid 
tapture  so 

sallies,   in 
id  reputa- 
Id  to  raise 
Isions   the 
Uted,  and 
fortress. 
ler  men  to 


disperse  themselves  over  the  country,  while 
she  made  her  own  escape  to  Brest.  As  soon 
as  was  possible,  she  collected  another  and 
larger  force,  and,  forcing  her  way  through  the 
enemy's  camp,  made  good  her  entrance  into 
the  city,  to  the  great  joy  of  her  almost  dis- 
couraged partisans. 

Subsequently,  the  re-enforcements  expected 
from  Edward  not  having  yet  arrived,  it  was 
thought  the  garrison  would  be  obliged  to  ca- 
pitulate, and  negotiations  were  actually  com- 
menced. The  countess,  deeply  mortified  at  the 
turn  her  affairs  were  taking,  had  mounted  a 
high  turret,  and  there  remained,  looking  sadly 
out  over  the  sea  in  the  direction  whence  the 
long-expected,  but  now  despaired  of,  supplies 
should  have  come.  Perhaps  there  was  still 
a  slight  hope  in  her  heart  that,  even  yet,  the 
desired  aid  might  be  afforded.  If  so,  that 
hope  was  destined  to  be  realized.  As  she 
kept  her  position,  gazing  sorrowfully  over  the 
wide   expanse   of  waters,  she   descried  dark 


ifl 


mm 


Vi. 


'IM!!I 


.l:Ml 


!  P  i 


i     II I P  '11 


220 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


objects  on  the  very  verge  of  the  horizon. 
The  despairing  look  gave  place  to  one  of 
eager,  hopeful  watching.  The  objects  in- 
creased in  size  as  she  strained  the  eye  to 
determine  what  they  really  were.  A  favor- 
able breeze  was  wafting  them  nearer,  and 
presently  they  took  a  tangible  form.  "  Sails  ! 
sails!"  cried  the  deligh^^ed  countess.  "Be- 
hold the  succors — the  English  succors.  No 
capitulation  !"  The  opportune  arrival  of  the 
re-enforcements  sent  by  Edward  had  saved  the 
garrison.  Charles  was  obliged  to  raise  the 
siege.  He  had  neither  taken  the  city  nor 
captured  the  countess. 

Edward's  six  thousand  gallant  troops  did 
the  cause  of  the  countess  and  her  still  be- 
sieged husband  good  service.  They  had  not 
appeared  upon  the  field  at  an  earlier  period 
in  the  strug;;le  in  consequence  of  contrary 
winds.  But  the  delay  itself  had  accomplished 
very  much  in  bringing  out  the  strong  points 
in  the  character  of  the  countess.      She  had 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


221 


proved  to  the  world  that  she  could  not  only 
collect  an  army,  but  do  even  more — efficiently 
command  it. 

Subsequently,  the  cause  of  Charles  of  Blois 
seemed  to  gain  fresh  strength,  and  his  party 
greatly  outnumbered  that  of  Montfort,  whose 
friends  decreased  as  those  of  Charles  increased. 
Edward  again  gent  re-enforcements.    The  En- 
glish  fleet,   having  with   them   the  countess, 
were  met  on  the  passage  to  Brittany  by  the 
enemy,  and  an  action  ensued,  in  which   the 
countess  behaved  with  the  utmost  courage, 
charging  the  foe  as  valorously  as  any  other 
officer  among  them.     A  storm  put  an  end  to 
the   bloody   conflict,   and    the   fleet,    without 
further  adventure,  reached  the  shores  of  Brit- 
tany.    Thenceforth  the  dispute  of  the  succes- 
sion   became    inextricably    mixed    up   in   the 
quarrel   between    England    and    France,    be- 
coming indeed  a  part  of  it ;  and  we  trace  the 
career  of  the  heroic  Countess  of  Montfort  no 
further. 


1  ) 


IVk 


mm 


222 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


ANNE    ASKEW. 


In  the  preceding  sk'^tch,  it  has  been  shown 
what  a  woman  could — did,  in  fact — do  and 
dare,  as  an  ardent  patriot  and  loving  wife.  The 
fortitude  of  Anne  Askew  was  of  a  different 
stamp.  She  proved  what  she  could  endure  for 
conscience*  sake.  The  Reformation  produced 
many  women  such  as  she;  but  her  simple 
story  must  suffice,  here,  for  all. 

She  was  a  young  lady  of  high  family,  and 
exercised  a  remarkable  influence,  for  one  so 
young,  over  the  ladies  at  the  Court  of  Henry 
VIII ;  and  even  stood  in  the  relation  of  a 
friend  to  the  queen — no  great  passport  to  the 
favor  of  the  monster  Heury.  Being  possessed 
of  considerable  mental  ability,  she  gave  much 
of  her  attention  to  the  study  of  the  theological 
questions  which  were  disturbing  the  peace 
of  Europe  at  the  time;  and  being  also  of  an 
independent  turn,  and  withal  deeply  pious, 
she  dared  to  question    Henry's  dogma  con- 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TiMES.' 


22^ 

.     °ther.  thaa  he  allowed    or   .  '"^  ''"'' 

'^e  had  decreed  ZX    'T''  °"^  ^^'^'<='' 
-ous  Bonner  was  col         ""'•     ""'^ '"'"«- 

^-respecting      ;r  '"""'^^'^"'^ 

'"^herLThe     !'■°"^'^'^^'•-'.«^d- 
-  either  his  d  c  al tir  T  T '  "  ^''^'^ 
pronounced   her  a     eJcH      "^^ '''"^'  '- 
-P-e„ting  her  as  su'was  T  ^°"'""  ^" 
hens.-ble,  as.  while  refu  L  "°"  "P^^" 

dence  to  the  do  .  •  ^'^^  ^""''«  '^'•«- 

"Ponhrr/hetrtle"?:""^"'---- 
^he  king  that.  -A  to  h  t'd' "'  ^^°"  " 
believed  as  n,uch  as  ChL^J  '""^P^^'  ^''^ 
of  it  ",  ""  '"'"^^If  had  said 

Chu;ch;equi;e;      "  •""'  ^^  ''^  ^^"^o'- 
But  the  king,  though  professing  to  be  a 
reformer,  would  brook  nothin.  which  J 
accord  Dreci<!Pl,-  -,  vu  t-  "       "^"  ''"'  "ot 

ances     Z         ""  "'^  "'^^  ''"^--tic  utter- 
'    ""  P^^^"'"'"^ 'o  write  to  him.  when 


mm 


H 


224 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


she  did  not  submit  to  his  dictation,  he  chose 
to  construe  as  a  fresh  insult  to  himself. 

Her  youth  (she  was  but  seventeen),  her 
beauty,  and  her  innocence  were  no  protection. 
The  rack,  and  then  the  stake,  were  all  that 
remained,  unless  she  could  be  prevailed  on  to 
recant.  This  she  gently  but  firmly  refused 
to  do. 

The  king  was  determined  to  root  out  the 
heresy — if  it  existed  there — from  the  court ; 
and  those  who  knew  him,  knew  that  there  was 
no  cruelty  of  which  he  would  not  be  guilty  to 
accomplish  his  end.  Wriothesley,  the  chan- 
cellor, waited  on  the  unfortunate  Miss  Askew 
to  examine  her  concerning  the  religious  sen- 
timents of  the  other  ladies  of  the  couvt ;  but, 
though  bold  in  professing  her  own  religious 
views,  she  was  just  as  firm  in  refusing  to  im- 
plicate any  of  her  for^TiCr  associates.  Threat- 
enings  and  promises  were  alike  found  useless. 
Then  she  was  subjected  to  the  most  excruci- 
ating torture;  but,   though   every  limb   was 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


225 


he  chose 

teen),  ber 
protection, 
re  all  that 
ailed  on  to 
ily   refused 

30t  out  the 
the  court; 
^t  there  was 
be  guilty  to 
,  the  chan- 
iss  Askew 
;ligious  sen- 
couvt;  but, 
n  religious 
[using  to  im- 
;s.    Threat- 
lund  useless. 
,ost  excruci- 
ty  limb   was 


dislocated,  the  noble  girl  remained  true  to  her 
friends  and  to  her  God.  So  enraged  was  the 
chancellor  at  her  fortitude,  that  when  the  lieu- 
tenant of  the  tower  refused  to  obey  his  order 
to  screw  the  rack  still  more  tightly,  he  seized 
the  instrument  himself,  and  wrenched  it  so 
violently  as  almost  to  tear  the  "body  asun- 
der." But  her  constancy  was  unshaken.  Tor- 
ture having  failed,  the  poor,  mangled  body  was 
thrust  into  a  chair,  and  carried  to  the  stake. 
A  Catholic  priest  and  two  other  persons  were 
conducted  with  her  to  execution,  all  con- 
demned in  like  manner  for  the  violation  of 
the  king's  mandates.  Bound  to  their  respect- 
ive  stakes,  these  victins  of  intolerant  bigotry 
and  unlimited  tyranny  awaited  with  patience 
the  kindling  of  the  fagots  which  were  piled 
around.  But  they  were  to  be  still  further 
tempted  ere  they  were  released  from  suffer- 
ing. While  they  were  thus  publicly  exposed 
in  the  most  painful  of  positions,  suffering  all 
the  physical  agony  it  was  possible  to  endure 


':f 


226 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


and  live,  a  message  was  sent  to  them  that, 
if  they  would  even  at  that  late  period  recant, 
their  lives  would  be  sp-ired.  But  they  refused 
to  purchase  life  at  such  a  price,  and  calmly 
mtt  their  doom,  Miss  Askew  with  as  much 
fortitude  as  either  of  the  others. 

Thus,  amid  smoke  and  flame,  the  pure  spirit 
of  Anne  Askew  was  wafted,  by  attendant 
angels,  to  the  paradise  of  God,  whom  she  was 
not  ashamed  to  honor  before  men.  In  all 
the  struggle  of  the  Reformation,  what  man 
exhibited  more  courage  or  greater  strength  of 
"character  or  fortitude  than  this  beautiful  girl 
of  but  seventeen  Summers  ?  In  what  respect 
did  she  exhibit  inferiority  to  those  men  asso- 
ciated with  her  in  the  trying  year  (1546)  in 
which  she  earned  her  crown  of  martyrdom  ? 
There  were  many  martyrs,  but  not  one  more 
steadfast. 

ESTHER    INGLIS. 

The  reign  of  Elizabeth  has  been  styled  the 
Augustine  age  of  England.  Under  this  queen's 


WOMEN  OF 


'^.RN  TIMES. 


227 


sanction,  literature  flourished  more  than  ever 
before  in  that  kingdom ;  and  as  a  consequence 
her  people  became  less  barbarous,  and  men 
learned  to  look  with  less  admiration  upon  the 
sword,  and  more  respect  on  books.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  encouragement  given  to  men 
of  letters  by  Elizabeth  tells  for  good  upon 
our  literature,  even  after  this  lapse  of  time. 

Among  the  personages  eminent  in  this 
reign  was  Esther  Inglis,  who  was  exceedingly 
zealous,  and  industrious  withal,  in  translating 
and  transcribing  the  Scriptures  into  various 
languages,  particularly  French  and  Latin. 
Copies  of  these  she  presented  to  persons  of  dis- 
tinction, one  of  which — a  copy  of  the  Psalms, 
and  a  rare  specimen  of  calligraphy — she  pre- 
sented to  the  queen,  who  graciously  accepted 
it,  and  subsequently  had  it  deposited  in  the 
library  of  Christ's  Church,  Oxford. 

She  was  pronounced  by  the  most  exacting 
critics  to  be  the  most  accurate  chirographist 
that  had  been  known  up  to  that  period;  nor 


228 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I*!. 


>r 


has  her  peer  been  found  since.  She  excelled 
even  the  celebrated  Ascham  and  Davies,  both 
in  the  number  and  variety  of  styles.  Her 
copy  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  is  perhaps  her 
most  elaborate  work  of  art,  and  is  a  marvel  for 
the  ingenious  combinaMon  of  writing,  of  which 
there  are  forty  specimen^,  and  fine  pen-and- 
ink  drawings.  Every  chapter,  which  is  em- 
bellished both  at  the  beginning  and  end  with 
beautiful  decorations,  is  written  in  a  different 
hand,  and  there  are  variations  of  hand  in  some 
of  the  chapters.  The  book  is  entitled  "  Les 
Proverbes  de  Solomon,  escrites  in  diverses 
sortes  des  lettres,  par  Esther  Anglois,  Fran- 
coise:  A  Lislebourge  en  Escosse,  1599,"  and  is 
dedicated  to  the  Earl  of  Essex.  It  is  further 
ornamented  by  an  exquisitely  neat  represen- 
tation of  the  arms  of  the  unfortunate  noble- 
man, with  all  their  quarterings,  and  by  a  pen- 
and-ink  likeness  of  herself. 

Several  others  of  her  works  are  carefully 
preserved  in  both  England  and  Scotland ;  and 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


229 


some,  as  late  171 1,  were  in  the  possession  of 
her  own  descendants. 

At  the  age  of  forty,  she  married  a  Scottish 
gentleman,  named  Kcllo,  or,  as  we  would  spell 
it  in  these  modern  times,  Kelly.  The  issue 
of  this  marriage  was  one  son,  named  Samuel ; 
and  it  was  her  grandson,  Samuel  Kelly,  who 
was  in  possession  of  various  portions  of  her 
works  in  the  last  century. 


LADY  PAKINGTON. 


This  celebrated  lady,  who  flourished  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was 
the  daughter  of  Lord  Coventry,  Keeper  of  the 
Great  Seal,  and  the  wife  of  Sir  John  Paking- 
ton.  She  was  justly  considered  one  of  the 
celebrities  of  her  day,  and  her  society  sought 
by  the  learned  divines  with  whom  she  was 
contemporary.  She  was  the  well-known  au- 
thor of  several  works  of  merit,  and  the  reputed 
author  of  others. 

Ballard,  who  has  given  the  world  so  many 


n  I'v  !i 


230 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


U 


sketches  of  worthy  and  eminent  women,  with 
several  other  writers  of  note,  claims  that  it 
was  she  who  wrote  the  treatise  entitled  "  The 
Whole  Duty  of  Man ;"  and  his  reasoning  is 
so  much  to  the  point,  though  quaint,  that  we 
s'rnply  append  what  he  says  of  her,  with  his 
apt  quotations  from  her  writings,  as  a  suffi- 
ciently clear  delineation  of  the  character  and 
talents  of  this  worthy  woman.    He  writes  ; 

"  Yet  hardly  my  pen  will  be  thought  capa- 
ble of  adding  to  the  reputation  her  own  has 
procured  to  her,  if  it  shall  appear  that  she  was 
the  author  of  a  work  which  is  not  more  an 
honor  to  the  writer  than  a  universal  benefit  to 
mankind.  The  work  I  mean  is  *The  Whole 
Duty  of  Man ;'  her  title  to  which  has  been  so 
well  ascertained,  that  the  general  concealment 
it  has  lain  under  will  only  reflect  a  luster 
upon  all  her  other  excellencies  by  showing 
that  she  had  no  honor  in  view  but  that  of  her 
Creator,  which,  I  suppose,  she  might  think 
best  promoted    by  this   concealment.      (The 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


231 


1,  with 

that  it 

I  "  The 

ning  is 

that  we 

vith  his 

a  suffi- 

:ter  and 

rites : 

ht  capa- 

own  has 
she  was 
ore  an 

[enefit  to 
Whole 
been  so 
ealment 
|a  luster 
showing 
X  of  her 
t  think 
(The 


claims  of  other  authors  are  not  difficult  to  be 

disposed  of)     If  I  were  a  Roman  Catholic,  I 

would  summon   tradition  as  an  evidence  for 

me   on   this   occasion,   which   has  constantly 

attributed  this  performance  to  a  lady.     And  a 

late  celebrated  writer  observes,  that  *  there  are 

many  probable   arguments    in    "The  Whole 

Duty  of  Man,"  to  back  a  current  report  that 

it  was  written  by  a  lady.'     And  any  one  who 

reads   *The  Lady's   Calling,'   may  observe  a 

great  number  of  passages  which  clearly  indicate 

a  female  hand. 

"That   vulgar    prejudice    of   the    supposed 

incapacity  of  the   female  sex  is  what   these 

memoirs    in    general    may    possibly   remove ; 

and  as  I  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  take 

notice   of  it,   I  should   not  now  enter  again 

upon  that  subject,  had  hot  this  been  made  use 

of  as  an  argument  to  invalidate  Lady  Paking- 

ton's  title  to  those  performances.     It  may  not 

be  amiss,  therefore,  to  transcribe  two  or  three 

passages  from  the  treatise  I   have  just  now 

16 


¥      ' 


mentioned.  'But,  waiving  these  reflections,  I 
shall  fix  only  on  the  personal  accomplish- 
ments of  the  sex,  and  peculiarly  that  which  is 
the  most  principal  endowment  of  the  rational 
nature — I  mean  the  understanding — where  it 
will  be  a  little  hard  to  pronounce  that  they 
are  naturally  inferior  to  men,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered how  much  of  intrinsic  weight  is  put  in 
the  balance;  to  turn  it  to  the  men's  side.  Men 
have  their  parts  cultivated  and  improved  by 
education;  refined  and  subtilized  by  learning 
and  arts ;  are  like  a  piece  of  common  w*  ich, 
by  industry  and  husbandry,  becomes  a  differ- 
ent thing  from  th^  rest,  though  the  natural 
turf  owned  no  such  inequality.  We  may, 
therefore,  conclude  that  whatever  vicious  im- 
potence women  are  under,  it  is  acquired,  not 
natural ;  nor  derived  from  any  illiberality  of 
God's,  but  from  the  ill-managery  of  his  bounty. 
Let  them  not  charge  God  foolishly,  or  think 
that  by  making  them  women,  he  necessitated 
them  to  be  proud  or  wanton,  vain  or  peevish  ; 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


233 


ions,  I 

nplish- 

hich  is 

rational 

vhere  it 

lat  they 

:  is  con- 
is  put  in 

le.    Men 

oved  by 
learning 

HI  w  ich, 
a  differ- 

|e  natural 
e  may, 
cious  ini- 
luired,  not 
lerality  of 
|is  bounty, 
or  think 
jcessitated 
peevish  ; 


•  -♦ 


since  it  is  manifest  he  made  them  to  better 
purpose ;  was  not  partial  to  the  other  sex ;  but 
that  having,  as  the  prophet  speaks,  "  abun- 
dance of  spirit,"  he  equally  dispensed  it,  and 
gave  the  feeblest  woman  as  large  and  capa- 
cious a  soul  as  that  of  the  greatest  hero.  Nay, 
give  me  leave  to  say  further,  that  as  to  an 
eternal  well-being,  he  seems  to  have  placed 
them  in  more  advantageous  circumstances 
than  he  has  done  men.  He  has  implanted  in 
them  some  native  propensions  which  do  much 
facilitate  the  operations  of  grace  upon  them.' 
"And  having  made  good  this  assertion,  she 
interrogates  thus  :  '  How  many  women  do  we 
read  of  In  the  Gospel  who,  in  all  the  duties  of 
assiduous  attendance  on  Christ,  liberalities  of 
love  and  respect,  nay,  even  in  zeal  and  cour- 
age, surpassed  even  the  apostles  themsc^lves  ? 
We  find  his  cross  surrounded,  his  passion  cel- 
ebrated, by  the  avowed  tears  and  lamentations 
of  devout  women,  when  the  most  sanguine  of 
his  disciples  had  denied,  yea,  foresworn ;  and 


234 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


P'  f 


'i.iu'i 


all  had  forsaken  him.  Nay,  even  death  itself 
could  not  extinguish  their  love.  We  find  the 
devout  Maries  designing  a  laborious,  chargea- 
ble, and  perhaps  hazardous  respect,  to  his 
corpse ;  and  accordingly  it  is  a  memorable 
attestation  Christ  gives  to  their  piety  by  mak- 
ing them  the  first  witnesses  of  his  resurrec- 
tion, the  prime  evangelists  to  proclaini  those 
glad  tidings,  and,  as  a  learned  man  speaks, 
apostles  to  the  apostles.* 

"  There  are  many  works  of  this  lady  besides 
*  The  Whole  Duty  of  Man,'  enumerated  in 
her  biographies." 


MRS.    MARY    WASHINGTON. 

The  material  at  hand  is  too  meagre  to  admit 
of  giving  such  a  sketch  of  this  lady  as  would 
afford  any  adequate  idea  of  her  character ; 
and  yet  it  is  due  to  her  memory,  and  to  her 
nation,  that  there  should  be  some  tribute  to 
her  worth. 

The  mother  of  General  Washington  is  as 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


235 


itself 
lid  the 
largea- 
to   his 
norable 
>y  mak- 
ssurrec- 
n  those 

speaks, 

r  besides 
rated  in 


to  admit 
as  would 
[haracter ; 
id  to  her 
tribute  to 

rton  is  as 


much  the  mother  of  the  Great  Republic  as 
was  Mrs.  Susannah  Wesley  the  mother  of 
Methodism;  for  Washington  owed  the  dis- 
tinction to  which  he  rose,  and  the  high  niche 
he  occupies  in  the  history  ot  the  world's  he- 
roes, to  the  early  and  careful  training  of  his 
mother.  Left  a  widow  in  a  comparatively 
new  and  wild  country,  when  her  son  George 
was  but  ten  years  old,  she  fully  realized  the 
very  great  responsibility  resting  upon  her  as 
sole  remaining  guardian  of  her  children,  and 
set  herself  to  watch  the  bent  of  their  incli- 
nations, and  to  direct  their  energies  into  a 
proper  channel.  Respecting  the  influence  she 
exerted  upon  them,  her  daughter-in-law,  the 
wife  of  the  President,  many  years  afterward 
remarked :  "  You  speak  of  the  greatness  of 
my  husband.  His  dear  mother  ever  looked 
well  to  the  ways  of  her  household.  She  taught 
him  to  be  industrious  by  her  example." 

By  her  mild  but  firm  management  of  her 
boy,  she  established  a  hold  upon  his  affections, 


236 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


which  strengthened  instead  of  decreasing  with 
years ;  and  when,  in  the  later  part  of  his  life, 
honors  and  distinctions  were  heaped  upon  him, 
he  considered  them  rather  as  tributes  to  the 
worth  of  his  mother  than  to  his  own.  As  wis 
natural  to  so  adventurous  a  spirit,  George 
early  manifested  a  predilection  for  the  sea, 
and  his  elder  brother  encouraged  him  in  think- 
ing he  might  attain  distinction  as  a  gallant 
mariner.  A  midshipman's  berth  was  procured 
for  him,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  on  board  of  one 
of  his  majesty's  ships,  then  off  the  coast  of 
Virginia ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  ardent  de- 
sire of  his  boyhood  was  about  to  be  realized. 
But  when  all  was  ready,  his  mother  gave  ex- 
pression to  her  disapproval  of  the  expedition. 
Though  sorely  disappointed,  he  at  once  ac- 
quiesced, and  yielded  to  the  representations 
made  by  her.  Nor  did  she  expect  him  to  give 
a  ready  acquiescence  to  her  views  without 
giving  him  valid  reasons.  She  deemed  him 
quite    too   young   to    be    removed    from    the 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


237 


ig  with 

lis  life, 

)n  him, 
to  the 

As  wis 

George 

;he   sea, 

,n  think- 

.  gallant 

procured 

d  of  one 

coast  of 

dent  de- 
realized, 
gave  ex- 

cpedition. 
once  ac- 
entations 
m  to  give 
without 
med  him 
from    the 


salutary  restraints  of  home,  and  from  the  in- 
fluences of  its  dearer  ties.  Years  after,  the 
colonists  of  Virginia  and  the  North-west 
blessed  the  day  upon  which  Mrs.  Washington 
refused  her  consent  to  her  son's  entering  the 
navy,  and  thus  kept  him  to  do  them  invaluable 
service  in  driving  back  from  their  territories 
the  hostile  Indians,  or  more  hostile  French. 
Though  a  genuine  F.  F.  V.,  she  was  never 
arrogant  in  her  demeanor.  In  her  intercourse 
with  those  by  whom  she  was  surrounded,  or 
with  whom  she  came  in  contact,  she  was  sim- 
ple and  unaffected,  the  model  of  a  true  lady 
and  a  Christian. 

Even  in  old  age,  she  still  watched  carefully 
o^er  the  interests  of  her  son.  During  the 
Winter  of  1 777-1 778,  when  the  American 
soldiers  were  in  such  extremity  at  Valley 
Forge,  she,  as  well  as  the  wife  of  Washington, 
spent  her  time  in  preparing  comfortable  cloth- 
ing for  them.  Her  spinning-wheel  and  knit- 
ting-needles were  rarely  idle  in  those  times  of 


238 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


i  ' 

''ill  ,/'# 


trial.  A  woman  of  proper  discer  \ment  and 
good  judgment,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
say  that  she  disapproved  of  extravagance 
of  every  kind ;  and  when  the-  necessities  of 
her  coui:try  demanded  the  sacrifice  of  every 
thing  not  an  absolute  necessity,  she  was  found 
foremost  in  setting  an  example  of  plain'^ess 
of  dress. 

Lafayette,  with  his  aids-d  i-camp,  paid  her 
a  visit  of  congratulation  on  the  occasion  of 
Washington's  successful  passage  of  the  Del- 
aware, and  found  her  dressed  for  their  recep- 
tion in  a  plain  printed  gown,  with  her  knit- 
ting— probably  a  stocking  for  some  needy 
soldier — lying  on  a  table  near  her.  Did  the 
noble  Frenchman  and  his  companions  deem 
their  reception  to  have  been  less  cordial  than 
they  would  have  thought  it  bid  sh?  arrayed 
herself  in  costly  satin  and  lace,  and  received 
them  in  idle  state .''  Lafayette's  own  testi- 
mony of  his  appreciation  of  her  remarkable 
worth  answers  for  itself. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


239 


it  and 
iry  to 
igance 
ties  of 
every 
5  found 
ain-.ess 

aid  her 
.sion  of 
he  Del- 
r  recep- 
er  knit- 
needy 
Did  the 
lis  deem 
ial  than 
arrayed 
received 
n    testi- 
iiarkable 


At  a  good  old  age  she  died,  and  her  country 
still  reveres  her  memory. 

MRS.  WESLEY. 

Taylor,  the  historian,  gives  Mrs.  Wesley 
quite  a  prominent  position  in  his  account  of 
the  work  accomplished  by  her  sons,  and  gi'  s 
the  following  reason  for  doing  so :  "  The 
mother  of  the  Wesleys  was  the  mother  of 
Methodism."  One  who  was  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  leaders  of  the  Reforma- 
tion of  the  eighteenth  century  deserves  a 
prominent  position  among  the  eminent  women 
of  modern  history. 

Mrs.  Wesley  was  distinguished,  from  child- 
hood, for  rare  mental  ability;  and,  even  at  so 
early  an  age  as  thirteen,  had  made  theology 
a  favorite  study.  Arrived  at  mature  years, 
she  made  practical  use  of  the  knowledge  so 
carefully  acquired  in  youth,  and  manifested 
unusual  judgment  and  skill  in  the  early 
training  and  general  management  of  her  very 


11 


240 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


■■%:  iirf\ 


large  family.  She  did  not  confine  herself  to 
the  management  of  her  domestic  concerns 
alone,  as  many  good  mothers  would  have 
done,  though  she  carefully  superintended 
them,  but  also  overlooked  the  studies  of  her 
children ;  and  it  was  really  her  thorough 
training,  and  her  subsequent  counsels  to  John 
and  Charles  while  at  Oxford,  which  produced 
in  them  the  bent  of  mind  that  finally  resulted 
in  the  great  Methodist  movement. 

Accustomed  all  her  life  to  read  with  care 
the  productions  of  the  most  eminent  writers 
of  her  own  and  preceding  times,  and  to  reflect 
upon  what  sh^*  read,  she  was  able  to  arrive  at 
correct  conclusions  concerning  questions  of 
importance,  whether  they  related  to  private 
matters  or  to  the  public  well-being.  She 
had  no  more  dread  of  Mrs.  Grundy  than  her 
sons  had.  Once  she  knew  she  was  right, 
"Society"  migb*.  either  blame  or  praise,  as  it 
saw  fit ;  she  remained  firm  in  the  carrying  out 
of  the  measure — true  to  her  principles. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


241 


self  to 
mcerns 
1    have 
itended 
of  her 
lorough 
to  John 
>roduced 
resulted 

vith  care 
t  writers 
to  reflect 
arrive  at 
stions  of 
private 
She 
than  her 
as  right, 
ise,  as  it 
rying  out 
les. 


Iig- 


When  her  sons,  John  and  Charles,  collected 
the  common  and  poorer  people  about  them, 
and  began  preachinp  to  them  in  the  open 
fields,  there  was  a  fearful  outcry.  Old-time 
customs  had  been  innovated.  Clergymen  of 
the  Church  of  England  had  departed  from 
accustomed  usage,  and  from  field  or  horse- 
block had  proclaimed  a  full  and  free  salvation 
through  Christ  to  the  very  vilest  of  the  land, 
if  they  would  but  comply  with  the  conditions 
laid  down  by  him.  The  Profession  were 
aggrieved  at  such  irregular  proceedings.  "So- 
ciety" was  scandalized  that  outcasts  were 
bidden  to  the  same  feast  upon  the  same  con- 
ditions with  those  reputed  decent.  Even 
Samuel  Wesley  felt  called  upon  to  rebuke 
his  brothers  sharply  for  the  reproach  he  con- 
sidered they  had  brought  upon  the  Church  by 
their  "  intemperate  zeal.*'  But  where  was 
their  mother  meanwhile — she  whose  counsels 
experience  had  proved  it  best  to  follow }  Ex- 
amining the  Scriptures,  and  the  history  of  the 


242 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


primitive  Church,  to  see  wherein  her  sons 
had  gone  astray,  that  she  might  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  convince  them  of  their  error,  if  she 
found  them  to  be  in  it.  Careful  study,  how- 
ever, convinced  her  that  they  were  only  prac- 
ticing the  course  followed  by  Christ  and  his 
apostles ;  and  her  determination  was  taken. 
She  would  not  only  encourage  them  by  her 
letters,  but  sustain  them  and  sanction  their 
course  by  her  presence.  Accordingly,  she 
went  with  her  son  John  to  Kensington  Com- 
mon, and  stood  by  him  while  he  preached  to 
a  congregation  of  about  "twenty  thousand 
people." 

It  was  Mrs.  Wesley  who  counseled  John 
to  ponder  well  what  he  did  before  he  forbade 
laymen  to  address  congregations ;  and  her 
arguments  on  this  point  were  so  conclusive 
that  they  led  him  to  alter  his  mind  and  make 
use  of  them  as  an  agency  for  good  in  the 
Church,  though  previously  he  had  considered 
su:h  a  proceeding  a  dangerous  innovation. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


243 


During  the  life-time  of  her  husband,  it  was 
her  custom,  in  his  absence,  to  allow  those 
who  chose  to  come  to  assemble  in  a  room  of 
the  old  rectory  at  Epworth,  on  Sunday,  and 
either  read  them  a  sermon  herself  or  have 
one  of  the  elder  children  do  it.  Frequently, 
the  office  of  reader  devolved  upon  her  daugh- 
ter Emily. 

No  matter  into  what  department  of  her 
life  you  inquire,  she  is  still  found  the  same 
active,  energetic,  and  strong-minded  woman. 
Nothing  weak  or  puerile  is  found  in  her 
character.  From  girlhood  to  maturity,  T  cm 
maturity  to  gray  hairs,  she  pursues  the  same 
steady,  uniform  course.  Her  life  is  consis- 
tent with  the  principles  which  she  had  laid 
down  for  her  own  self-government,  and  which 
she  believed  were  deduced  from  the  Word 
of  God. 

At  seventy-two  years  of  age,  she  closed  a 
long  career  of  usefulness,  dying,  as  the  Chris- 
tian might  be  expected  to  die,  in  the  triumphs 


t  ! 


ifll 


■^  \  ■' 


"''IP 


244 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


of  faith.  Five  of  her  daughters,  and  her  son 
John,  were  permitted  to  stand  at  her  bedside 
and  witness  her  peaceful  end,  and  to  comply 
with  a  request  made  shortly  before  she  died, 
that,  as  soon  as  the  last  struggle  was  ended, 
they  should  unite  in  singing  a  psalm  of  praise 
for  her  release. 

Very  appropriate  were  the  lines  of  her  son 
Charles  on  this  occasion: 

"  In  sure  and  steadfast  hope  to  rise, 
And  claim  her  mansion  in  the  skies, 
A  Christian  here  her  flesh  laid  down — 
The  cross  exchanging  for  a  crown." 

MRS.  FLETCHER. 

Miss  Mary  Bosanquet,  afterward  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  may  also  be  numbered  among  the 
great  women  of  the  eighteentn  century. 
While  yet  unmarried,  she  identified  herself 
with  the  Methodists  ;  and  as  a  consequence 
was  subjected  to  bitter  persecution,  even  to 
being  excluded  from   her  father's  house,  and 


'i!  I 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


245 


ler  son 
bedside 
comply 
le  died, 
,  ended, 
>f  praise 

her  son 


rd    Mrs. 

long  the 

century. 

herself 

equence 

even  to 

use,  and 


forbidden   to  have  any  intercourse  with   the 
younger  members  of  the  family. 

Circumstances  led  her  to  believe  that  it 
was  her  duty  to  exercise  the  talents  given  to 
her,  in  addressing  public  audiences,  and  she 
accordingly  began  speakii^g  to  such  congrega- 
tions as  she  chanced  to  have.  Such  a  de- 
parture from  established  usage  brought  down 
upon  her  a  storm  of  invective  and  abuse. 
Her  family  and  friends  felt  aggrieved  that  she 
should  have  allowed  her  enthusiasm — as  they 
termed  it — to  lead  her  into  what  they  deemed 
such  an  indecorous  proceeding ;  and  for  a 
time  she  found  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  stem 
the  tide  of  opposition  raised  against  her. 
But  her  natural  good  sense  and  independence 
of  character  were  greatly  in  her  favor.  Ulti- 
mately, without  her  having  yielded  to  the 
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  her,  she  over- 
came all  opposition,  and  her  family  became 
reconciled  to  her. 

She  preached  in  various  parts  of  England 


246 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


I, 


i  ii 


ff 


with  acceptance,  as  she  had  opportunity,  from 
shortly  after  her  conversion  till  her  marriage ; 
and  then,  as  it  would  have  been  a  violation 
of  a  canon  of  the  Church  of  England — of 
which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  minister — for  a 
woman  to  occupy  the  pulpit  of  the  church  at 
Madeley,  her  husband  had  a  large  building 
erected,  in  close  proximity  to  the  rectory,  for 
her  especial  use.  Here,  for  the  few  years 
that  he  was  spared  to  his  wife,  it  was  Mr. 
Fletcher's  pleasure — though  he  had  few  equals 
in  erudition — to  listen  to  the  gentle  teach- 
ings of  this  amiable  woman.  Her  eloquence 
was  so  very  remarkable,  that  more  than 
twenty  years  of  public  speaking  had  not  in 
the  least  diminished  the  interest  wilh  which 
she  was    listened    to.      Crowds    attended   on 

her  ministry,  not  from  idle  curiosity,  but  for 

« 

edificiijion. 

So  beneficial  had  Mrs.  Fletcher's  ministra- 
tions at  Madeley  been  found  to  be,  that  on 
the  death  of  her  husband,  and  the  appoint- 


■!■       ■■<■■■ 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


247 


r,  from 
ri  iage  ; 
olation 
nd — of 
—for   a 
urch  at 
milling 
:ory,  for 
w  years 
vas  Mr. 
N  equals 

teach- 
oquence 
e    than 

not  in 

|h  which 

iided   on 

but  for 
« 

binistra- 

that  on 

I  appoint- 


ment of  a  successor,  the  new  rector,  not  wish- 
ing to  retard  the  progress  of  true  Christianity 
in  his  parish,  requested  her  to  continue  to  use 
the  building  erected  for  her  convenience  just 
as  she  had  formerly  done.  Mrs.  Fletcher  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  so  cordially  given,  and 
for  many  years  was  an  efficient  co-laborer  with 
the  rector. 

Nor  did  the  public  career  of  Mrs.  Fletcher 
mar  her  efficiency  in  the  management  of  her 
domestic  concerns.  Both  at  Laytonstone  and 
at  Madeley,  she  attended  carefully  to  her  house- 
hold, overseeing  every  thing  connected  with 
what  is  technically  termed  the  women's  de- 
partment, with  particular  scrupulousness.  At 
last  her  long  and  active  life  was  nearing  its 
close.  For  thirty  years  she  had  mourned  the 
loss  of  her  venerated  husband,  of  whom,  in 
her  seventy-sixth  year,  she  thus  makes  men- 
tion in  her  journal : 

** August  13,  181 5. — Thirty  years,  this  day, 

I  drank  the  bitter  cup  and  closed  the  eyes  of 

17 


h  U 


248 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


my  beloved  husband,  and  now  I  am  myself 
in  a  dying  state."  Then,  in  view  of  her  own 
approaching  end,  she  continues :  "  Lord,  pre- 
pare me.  I  feel  death  very  near.  My  soul 
doth  wait  and  long  to  the  bosom  of  my  God." 
A  little  earlier  in  this  year  she  had  written  : 
"O,  I  long  that  the  year  fifteen  [181 5]  may 
be  the  best  year  of  my  life."  With  the  great 
apostle  she  could  say,  "Having  a  desire  to 
depart,  and  be  with  Christ."  And  now  she 
was  realizing  the  fulfillment  of  that  longing 
desire.  Her  labors  were  about  ende''.  Soon 
she  was  to  enter  into  the  Chr:^  Jan's  proin'sed 
rest.  On  the  9th  of  Dpcember,  1815,  she 
closed  her  eyes  to  sublunary  objects  to  open 
them  in  the  paradise  above.  Rev.  Mr.  Dod- 
son,  who  attended  her  funeral,  said  of  her: 
"  Her  congregations  were  fully  as  large,  after 
thirty  years'  labors,  as  when  she  first  opened 
her  commission  among  them." 

Where  is  the  clergyman  of  whom  more  can 
be  said  .•* 


i  myself 
her  own 
ord,  pre- 

My  soul 
ny  God. 

written  : 

815]  may 
the  great 
desire  to 
[  now  she 
Lt  longing 
»^,     Soon 
prOiO^sed 
181S.  she 
ts  to  open 
Mr.  Dod- 
id  of  her : 
arge,  after 
St  opened 

more  can 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


MISS    CROSBY. 


249 


While  Miss  Bosanqiiet  was  still  living  at 
Laytonstone,  she  had  associated  with  her  two 
other  ladies  equally  eminent  for  their  earnest 
piety,  and  for  the  diligence  with  which  they 
prosecuted  every  good  work.  It  was  their  de- 
light, among  other  things,  to  assist  Miss  Bos- 
anquet  in  dispensing  her  munificent  charities, 
which  were  so  managed  as  to  be  given  without 
ostentation.  These  two  intimate  friends  of 
Miss  Bosanquet  were  Miss  Crosby  and  Miss 
Tripp.  From  the  very  commencement  of 
a  regularly  organized  movement  among  the 
Methodists,  class  and  band  meetings  had  been 
found  very  useful  as  a  means  of  instructing 
the  people  who  had  united  with  these  socie- 
ties, and,  in  the  capacity  of  class-leaders  and 
band-leaders,  these  three  ladies  were  perhaps 
unsurpassed  in  England. 

By  what  some  would  perhaps  call  a  mere 
accidental   circumstance.  Miss   Crosby  found 


250 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


fM' 


^Ur^ 


iiir  if: 


\ 


herself,  upon  an  occasion,  in  a  position  where 
she  must  speak  to  a  congregation  or  send 
them  home  disappointed,  and  be  guilty  of 
what  she  deemed  an  omission  of  a  duty  clearly 
pointed  out  to  her  by  Providence.  She  had 
given  no  intimation  of  any  intention,  on  her 
part,  of  doing  more  than  she  usually  did  at 
this  place — simply  leading  her  ordinary  class — 
and  had  designed  doing  nothing  more,  when, 
on  her  arrival  there,  she  found  nearly  two  hun- 
dred persons  present  anxious  for  instruction. 
To  lead  the  class  in  the  customary  manner 
was  impossible.  She,  therefore,  after  con- 
ducting the  preliminary  services,  delivered  a 
general  address,  dwelling  particularly  on  the 
necessity  of  repentance,  and  presenting  Christ 
as  a  compassionate  Redeemer.  This  extem- 
pore address  was  attended  with  such  beneficial 
results,  that  her  friends  insisted  upon  her  ex- 
ercising her  very  evident  talent  in  this  direc- 
tion, and,  though  averse  to  any  thing  like 
forwardness,  she  did   not  feel   that  she  was 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


251 


n  where 
or  send 
;uiUy  of 
y  dearly 
She  had 
1,  on  her 
ly  did  at 
ry  class — 
)re,  when, 
J  two  hun- 
istruction. 
y  manner 
after   con- 
elivered  a 
:ly  on  the 
;ing  Christ 
lis  extern- 
beneficial 
,on  her  ex- 
this  direc- 
thing   like 
Lt  she  was 


justified  in  refusing  to  comply  with  the  wishes 
of  those  on  whose  judgment  she  relied.  Wher- 
ever she  went,  success  attended  her  efforts, 
and  she  traveled  extensively  throughout  the 
kingdom,  speaking  sometimes  to  very  large 
audiences. 

Dr.  Stevens,  the  celebrated  American  Meth- 
odist historian,  thus  sums  up  the  work  of 
a  single  year.  "Ir  that  time,"  says  he,  "she 
traveled  nine  hundied  and  sixty  miles  to  hold 
two  hundred  and  twenty  public  meetings,  and 
about  six  hundred  select  meetings,  besides 
writing  one  hundred  and  sixteen  letters,  many 
of  them  long  ones,  and  holding  many  conver- 
sations in  private  with  individuals  who  wished 
to  consult  her  on  religious  subjects."  In  this 
latter  department  of  the  Christian  ministry 
she  particularly  excelled. 

Like  her  friend,  Mrs.  Fletcher,  she  lived 
to  a  very  old  age ;  and  at  seventy-five,  or 
nearly  that,  calmly  composed  herself  for  death, 
by  a  vigorous   effort  of  the  will  closing  her 


252 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


own  eyes  and  mouth.     Her  demise  occur  j  A 
October  24,  1804. 


ANN    HASSELTINE. 


>     i 


The  first  wife  of  the  Rev.  Adoniram  Judson 
was  a  biilliant  exemplification  of  the  truth  of 
the  position  we  have  advanced — namely,  that 
a  woman  may  be  endowed  with  intellectual 
powers  of  a  high  order;  that  she  may  ?.?sidu- 
ously  cultivate  those  powers  and  employ  Jiem 
in  advancing  objects  that  commend  themselves 
to  her  judgment  outside  of  her  own  family 
circle;  that  she  may  become  an  active  and 
efficient  participator  in  affairs  of  a  public 
nature,  requiring  of  her  wisdom,  eloquence, 
and  courage;  and  all  this  without  her  deteri- 
orating in  the  slightest  degree  in  any  of  the 
valuable  qualities  or  attractive  graces  that 
characterize  a  truly  womanly  woman. 

Mrs.  Judson's  history,  as  connected  with 
the  Burmese  Mission,  which  her  husband  and 
herself  were  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMKS. 


253 


in  estab-shing,  is  too  well  known  to  require 
extended  notice  here.  A  few  points,  however, 
may  be  glanced  at.  Throughout  the  difficul- 
ties which  beset  them  during  the  first  year 
after  their  arrival  at  Calcutta,  when  there 
seemed  to  be  no  open  do  'h rough  which 
they  might  enter  upon  tb  ir  stined  work, 
and  all  their  hopes  of  i.5t,  ulness  seemed 
doomed  to  disappointme»  t,  Mrs.  Judson  was 
as  little  disposed  to  succumD  to  these  adverse 
circumstances  as  her  husband. 

The  British  East  India  Company  did  not 
favor  Christian  missions,  and  were  at  that 
time  (18 12)  particularly  unfriendly  to  Ameri- 
can missionaries.  They  had  spent  but  a  few 
days  in  the  congenial  society  of  the  venerable 
Dr.  Carey's  hospitable  home,  when  they  were 
ordered,  by  the  Government,  to  leave  the 
country  and  return  to  America.  Hoping  to 
be  allowed  to  prosecute  their  work  in  some 
country  not  under  the  Company's  jurisdiction, 
they  solicited  and  obtained  permission  to  go 


\m 


II  ' 


I 


« ,i 


254 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


to  the  Isle  of  France.  But  before  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Judson  were  able  to  secure  a  passage 
there,  they  received  a  new  order  from  the 
Government  commanding  them  to  embark  on 
a  vessel  bound  for  England. 

Just  then  they  heard  of  a  vessel  about  to 
sail  for  the  Isle  of  France,  and  applied  for  a 
passport  to  go  on  her,  but  were  refused.  The 
captain,  however,  though  knowing  of  the  re- 
fusal, allowed  them  to  embark.  The  vessel  was 
overtaken  by  a  Government  dispatch,  forbid- 
ding the  pilot  to  conduct  it  further  seaward, 
because  there  were  persons  on  board  who  had 
been  ordered  to  England.  They  were  obliged 
to  land ;  but  finally  the  captain  was  induced  to 
disregard  orders  so  far  as  to  allow  Mrs.  Judson 
to  return  to  the  vessel,  and  to  convey  her  and 
their  baggage  to  a  point  opposite  a  tavern,  a 
number  of  miles  down  the  river,  Mr.  Judson 
being  left  to  make  his  way  as  best  he  could. 

Let  us  imagine  that  refined  and  tenderly 
reared   lady,  landing    from    the   pilot's   boat. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


255 


which  he  had  kindly  sent  to  take  her  ashore, 
alone,  a  stranger  in  a  foreign  land,  uncertain 
of  the  character  of  the  place  in  which  she  was 
obliged  to  seek  shelter,  and  not  knowing  what 
might  occur  to  prevent  her  husband  rejoining 
her.  Instead  of  weakly  yielding  to  despond- 
ency, she  promptly  engaged  a  boat  to  go 
out  after  the  vessel,  to  bring  their  effects 
ashore.  Then,  though  impenetrable  darkness 
so  shrouded  their  future  that  she  could  not 
see  how  the  next  step  was  to  be  taken,  she 
looked  for  light  upon  their  pathway,  and  de- 
liverance from  their  perplexities,  to  Him  whom 
they  served,  and  calmly  trusted  the  issue  to 
Him.  Before  night,  Mr.  Judson  arrived  at 
the  place  where  his  wife  waited,  in  safety,  as 
did  also  their  baggage. 

For  three  days  they  could  see  no  way  out 
of  their  difficulty.  Then  they  received,  from 
an  unknown  friend,  the  necessary  pass.  Hast- 
ening down  the  river  at  a  point  seventy  miles 
distant,  they  found   the  vessel  they  had  left, 


2s6 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


it 


i  :) 


were  received  on  board,  and  allowed  to  con- 
tinue their  voyage. 

Wlien  they  dropped  anchor  at  the  Isle  of 
France,  the  dangers  of  the  voyage,  and  the 
trials  that  had  preceded  it  over,  they  were 
looking  forward  to  a  season  of  enjoyment  in 
the  society  of  their  associate  missionaries, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell,  who  had  accompanied 
them  on  the  voyage  from  America,  and  had 
preceded  them  from  Calcutta  to  the  Isle  of 
France.  But  disappointment  deeper,  sadder 
than  any  that  had  gone  before,  awaited  them. 
Mrs.  Judson  says :  "  Have  at  last  arrived  in 
port ;  but  O,  what  news — what  distressing 
news!  Harriet  (Mrs.  Newell)  is  dead.  Har- 
riet, my  dear  friend,  my  earliest  associate  in 
the  mission,  is  no  more.  O  death,  could  not 
this  wide  world  afford  thee  victims  enough, 
but  thou  must  enter  the  family  of  a  solitary 
few,  whose  comfort  and  happiness  depended 
so  much  on  the  society  of  each  other }  Could 
not  this  infant  mission  be  shielded  from  thy 


WOMEN  OF  iMODERN  TIMES. 


257 


shafts?"  "But  be  still,  my  heart,  and  know 
that  God  has  done  it.  Just  and  true  are  thy 
ways,  O  thou  King  of  saints  I" 

To  her  sorrow  for  her  friend  and  her  anx- 
iety at  the  uncertainties  of  their  situation,  was 
added,  while  on  the  island,  a  severe  attack  of 
illness.  But  when  a  field  supposed  to  be  ac- 
cessible to  missionaries  was  determined  upon, 
though  only  partially  recovered,  she  cheerfully 
prepared  to  brave  new  dangers  and  the  repe- 
tition of  former  trials.  They  sailed  for  Madras ; 
and,  on  their  arrival  there,  found  but  one  ship 
in  the  harbor  ready  for  sea,  and  that  not  bound 
for  their  desired  port,  but  for  Burma.  They 
had  intended  going  to  Burma  when  they 
first  arrived  in  India,  but  had  been  dissuaded 
from  so  doing  by  the  -representations  of  their 
friends  that  the  country  was  altogether  inac- 
cessible to  missionaries.  They  dared  not  re- 
main long  in  Madras,  lest  the  officials  of  the 
East  India  Company  should  send  them  back 
to  America.     Thus,  every   other   wa}'  being 


1::^ 


Kn 


),'  i 


'"Ih» 


258 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


closed  up  against  them,  they  were  obliged  to 
turn  their  faces  toward  that  country  in  which 
they  became  so  eminently  useful. 

The  voyage  was  one  of  discomfort  and  peril. 
When  they  arrived  at  Rangoon,  then  the 
capital  of  Burma,  Mrs.  Judson  was  so  weak 
that  she  had  to  be  carried  in  an  arm-chair 
from  the  landing.  Thankful  to  have  at  last 
found  a  resting-place,  they  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible established  themselves  in  the  house  they 
were  to  occupy. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Judson's  health  was  suf- 
ficiently restored,  they  gave  their  attention  to 
the  study  of  the  Burmese  language.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  although  Mrs.  Judson 
charged  herself  with  the  entire  management 
of  family  affairs,  in  order  that  Mr.  Judson 
might  not  be  interrupted  in  prosecuting  the 
study  of  the  language,  yet  she  made  more 
lapid  progress  in  acquiring  it  than  he  did. 
Subsequentl}^  she  studied  the  Siamese  lan- 
guage also,  and  translated  a  Catechism  and 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


259 


one  of  the  Gospels  into  that  tongue.  As  soon 
PS  she  was  able  to  make  herself  understood, 
she  diligently  endeavored  to  impart  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  to  those 
who  would  listen  to  her  instructions.  Though 
they  were  attentive  and  inquisitive,  it  was 
long  before  fruit  appeared  ;  but  undiscouraged, 
she,  with  prayer  and  faith,  continued  to  sow 
beside  all  waters. 

Mrs.  Judson  was  surprised  at  the  native  in- 
telligence and  reflecting  minds  possessed  by 
some  of  the  Burmese  women.  The  case  of  a 
woman  named  May-Meulah  is  given  as  an  in- 
stance of  this : 

"  Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries 
in  her  country,  her  active  mind  was  led  to 
inquire  the  origin  of  all  things.  Who  created 
all  that  her  eyes  beheld }  she  inquired  of  all 
she  met,  and  visited  priests  and  teachers  in 
vain ;  and  such  was  her  anxiety,  that  her 
friends  feared  for  her  reason.  She  resolved 
to  learn  to  read,  that  she  might  consult  the 


26o 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


sacred  books.  Her  husband,  willing  to  gratify 
her  curiosity,  taught  her  to  read,  himself.  In 
their  sacred  literature  she  found  nothing  satis- 
factory. For  ten  years  she  prosecuted  her 
inquiries,  when  God  in  his  providence  brought 
to  her  notice  a  tract  written  by  Mr.  Judson 
in  the  Burmese  language,  which  so  far  solved 
her  difficulties,  that  she  was  led  to  seek  out 
its  author.  From  him  she  learned  the  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  and,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  those 
truths  were  made  the  means  of  her  conversion." 
Mrs.  Judson's  politic  mind  seeing  the  prob- 
able importance  to  the  mission  of  making 
friends  in  high  places,  she  procured  an  intro- 
duction to  the  wife  of  the  viceroy,  and,  while 
visiting  her,  met  the  viceroy  also.  After 
giving  an  interesting  accouiit  of  the  visit,  she 
adds :  "  My  object  in  visiting  her  was,  that  if 
we  should  get  into  any  difficulty  with  the  Bur- 
mans,  I  could  have  access  to  her,  when  per- 
haps it  would  not  be  possible  for  Mr.  Judson 
to  have  an  audience  with  the  viceroy." 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


261 


•  Thus  Studying,  teaching,  and  planning;  la- 
boring with  her  hands,  and  enduring  pain, 
sickness,  and  sorrow ;  unsolaced  by  Christian 
society,  except  her  husband's, — three  anxious 
years  passed. 

In  their  course,  her  first-born  had  come  to 
warm  her  heart  with  a  new  love,  and,  for  a  few 
brief  months,  to  delight  them  with  the  unfold- 
ing of  his  baby  graces.  Then  death  entered, 
and  bore  away  their  darling,  and  left  hearts 
and  home  more  lonely  than  before. 

The  arrival  of  additional  missionaries  from 
America — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough — in  the  Au- 
tumn of  1 8 16,  for  a  time  greatly  cheered  and 
encouraged  them.  But  fresh  trials  were  in 
store  for  them.  Mr.  Judson  had  embarked 
for  the  province  of  Arracan ;  and  when  they 
were  daily  looking  for  his  return,  a  vessel 
arrived  from  the  port  to  which  he  had  sailed, 
bringing  the  disheartening  tidings  that  neither 
he  nor  the  vessel  in  which  he  had  sailed 
had  been  heard  of  there.    While  tortured  by 


!l 


^!: 


'U- 


262 


i 


tt''       i 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


»-' 


suspense  on  Mr.  Judson's  account,  new  terrors 
alarmed  the  mission  family.  Mr.  Hough  was 
ordered  to  the  court-house,  and  detained  there 
for  days  under  a  threat  that  "  if  he  did  not  tell 
all  the  truth  in  relation  to  the  foreigners,  they 
would  write  with  his  heart's  blood."  Not  un- 
derstanding the  language  of  his  accusers,  he 
was  unable  to  plead  his  own  cause,  and  he  had 
no  male  friend  to  do  it  for  him.  Had  Mrs. 
Judson,  in  this  extremity,  allowed  herself  to 
be  absorbed  in  her  own  sorrow,  or  yielded  to 
timidity,  Mr.  Hough  would  probably  have  suf- 
fered a  long  and  rigorous  confinement,  if 
indeed  he  had  escaped  with  his  life.  But 
undaunted  by  the  odium,  or  even  danger,  that 
might  accrue  to  herself,  she,  in  violation  of 
court  etiquette,  presented  herself  at  the  palace 
with  a  petition  in  Mr  Hough's  behalf.  The 
viceroy,  without  manifesting  any  displeasure 
at  the  breach  of  etiquette,  ordered  Mr.  Hough 
to  be  set  at  liberty. 

Six  months  of  painful  suspense  passed,  and 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


263 


yet  no  tidings  of  Mr.  Judson.  That  dreadful 
scourge,  the  cholera,  was  raging,  and  they 
were  alarmed  by  rumors  of  war.  Mr.  Hough 
resolved  to  remove  his  family  to  Bengal,  and 
urged  Mrs.  Judson  to  accompany  them.  She 
says :  "  I  have  ever  felt  resolved  not  to  make 
any  movement  till  I  hear  from  Mr.  Judson. 
Within  a  few  days,  however,  some  circum- 
stances have  occurred  which  have  induced 
me  to  make  preparations  for  a  voyage.  There 
is  but  one  remaining  ship  in  the  river ;  and  if 
an  embargo  is  laid  on  English  ships,  it  will 
be  impossible  for  Mr.  Judson — if  he  is  yet 
alive — to  return  to  this  plnce."  Therefore 
she  yielded  to  the  solicitatioi  jf  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hough,  and  embarked  wit  them.  But,  re- 
viewing all  the  conditions  J  the  case  as  the 
vessel  slowly  made  its  w;  down  the  river,  it 
became  clear  to  her  mind  that  whatever  were 
the  dangers  of  her  positi  >i  at  Rangoon,  yet 
there  was  her  post  of  duty.     Once  convinced 

of  what  was  duty,  this  hero''.    woman  was  not 

18 


•>■  1 


264 


WOM^xN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


to  be  deterred  from  it  by  dangers,  however 
formidable.  Her  resolution  was  taken  ;  and, 
having  prevailed  upon  the  captain  to  send  a 
boat  up  the  river  with  her,  she  returned  alone 
to  the  mission-house.  The  wisdom  of  her 
decision  was  proved  in  a  short  time  by  the 
safe  return  of  Mr.  Judson.  Later,  when  fail- 
ing health  necessitated  a  change  of  climate, 
Mrs.  Judson  showed  herself  as  well  adapted 
to  moving  gracefully  in  cultivated  and  refined 
society  as  she  was  to  contending  with  adver- 
sity and  danger  in  a  heathen  land. 

Her  eloquent  appeals,  both  in  England  and 
America,  in  behalf  of  the  perishing  millions 
of  the  East,  and  her  history  of  the  Burmese 
Mission,  prepared  during  her  visit  to  the 
United  States,  stirred  up  missionary  zeal  in 
the  heart  of  Protestant  Christendom,  and 
gave  an  impetus  to  the  cause  of  missions  that 
has  gone  on  accelerating  to  the  present  time. 

In  the  mean  time,  other  missionaries  had 
arrived    in    Burma,    among    whom    was    Dr. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


265 


Price,  the  fame  of  whose  skill  in  medicine 
reached  the  ears  of  the  king ;  and  Dr.  Price 
was  ordered  to  Ava,  then  the  capital.  Dr. 
Price  obeyed  the  summons  ;  and  Mr.  Judson, 
anxious  to  make  another  effort  to  procure 
toleration  for  the  Christians,  accompanied 
him.  The  king  received  them  kindly,  deter- 
mined to  retain  Dr.  Price  at  Ava,  and  ur- 
gently insisted  upon  Mr.  Judson's  remaining 
also.  Rejoiced  to  fih  1  the  king  so  favorably 
disposed  toward  the  Christians,  Mr.  Judson 
resolved  to  accept  the  invitation,  but  repre- 
sented that  he  must  return  to  Rangoon  for 
his  wife. 

A  few  days  after  Mrs.  Judson  arrived  from 
America,  they  therefore  left  Rangoon,  and 
commenced  a  mission  at  Ava ;  which  soon 
became  to  them  the  theater  of  Sv^ch  martyr- 
like sufferings  and  exalted  heroism  as  to  do 
justice  to  which  would  require  a  volume. 
Erelong,  ihe  war  so  long  feared  between 
the   British  and  the  Burmese  actually  broke 


'  11 


1  ■'  t 
'  I? 


J  'i 


k  1 1,1 


III 

I  PI 

i 


I 


n: 


if 


I  in 


m 


U    f 


266 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


out.  The  Englishmen  at  Ava  were  all 
seized  and  imprisoned,  and  with  them  Mr. 
Judson  and  Dr.  Price.  In  vain  the  mission- 
aries protested  that  they  were  not  English- 
men. Identical  with  the  latter  in  language, 
religion,  manners,  dress,  etc.,  and  receiving 
their  funds  through  an  English  house,  the 
Burmese  could  not,  or  would  not,  understand 
that  they  belonged  to  another  nation. 

Mrs.  Judson  was  not  allowed  to  leave  her 
own  house  till  the  third  day ;  a  guard  having 
been  placed  around  it,  and  no  one  allowed  to 
enter  or  leave  it  but  at  the  penalty  of  life. 
She  obtained  egress  at  last,  by  causing  the 
governor  to  be  informed  that  she  wished  to 
visit  him  with  a  present.  The  guard  were 
then  ordered  to  allow  her  to  pass.  Her  plea 
for  their  release  was  without  effect ;  but  she 
was  directed  to  an  officer  with  whom  s^he 
might  arrange  with  regard  to  making  them 
more  comfortable.  By  paying  a  considerable 
sum   of  money  to   this   man,  she  obtained  a 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


267 


promise  that  their  sufferings  should  be  mit- 
igated. 

The  Governor  gave  her  an  order  for  her 
admittance  to  the  prison,  but  she  was  not 
allowed  to  enter.  She  saw  Mr.  Judson  at 
the  door,  whither  he  crawled  to  speak  with 
her.  Bat  even  this  sad  communing  was  cut 
short  by  a  rude  order  to  Mrs.  Judson  to  "de- 
part, or  they  would  pull  her  out."  She  was, 
however,  allowed  to  supply  the  prisoners  with 
food,  and  mats  to  lie  upon. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long  series  of 
such  visits  to  the  prison — of  efforts  for  the 
comfort  of  the  prisoners,  and  appeals  in 
their  behalf  to  jailers,  petty  officers,  magis- 
trates, goveinors,  or  members  of  the  royal 
family. 

She  was  subjected  to  all  manner  of  extor- 
tion and  annoyance,  being  repeatedly  brought 
before  the  authorities  on  the  most  absurd 
charges.  The  fear  that  her  husband  would 
be   put   to   death    so   haunted   her,  that   she 


!     ' 


(    t 


268 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


was  willing  to  meet  the  most  exorbitant 
demands,  hop'ng  thereby  to  conciliate  his 
persecutors. 

After  she  had  succeeded  in  effecting  some 
slight  improvement  in  their  condition,  all  was 
reversed  by  a  disastrous  battle  ;  the  success 
of  the  British  being  visited  upon  the  prison- 
ers, by  the  withdrawal  of  all  the  little  com- 
forts Mrs.  Judson  had  at  so  much  cost  and 
trouble  obtained  for  them.  When  tht^'  were 
dragged  from  one  city  to  another,  she  fol- 
lowed, renewing  the  same  wearing  round  of 
toiling,  pleading,  paying,  to  procure  some 
alleviation  of  their  misery. 

The  estimation  in  which  she  was  held  by 
those  acquainted  with  the  facts,  may  be  seen 
by  the  following,  written  by  one  of  Mr.  Jud- 
son's  fellow-prisoners  : 

"  Mrs.  Judson  was  the  author  of  those  elo- 
quent and  forcible  appeals  to  the  Government 
which  prepared  them  by  degrees  for  submis- 
sion to  terms  of  peace,  never   expected    by 


WOMEN  OF  MODIiRN  TIMES. 


269 


any  who  knew  the  haughtiness  and  inflexible 
pride  of  the  Burmese  Court. 

"  And  while  on  this  subject,  the  overflow- 
ings of  grateful  feelings,  on  behalf  of  myself 
and  fellow-prisoners,  compel  me  to  add  a 
tribute  of  public  thanks  to  that  amiable  and 
humane  female,  who,  though  living  at  a  dis- 
tance of  two  miles  from  our  prison,  without 
any  Tieans  of  conveyance,  and  very  feeble  in 
health,  forgot  her  own  comfort  and  infirmity, 
and  almost  every  day  visited  us,  sought  out 
and  administered  to  our  wants,  and  contrib- 
uted in  every  way  to  alleviate  our  misery. 

**  When  we  were  all  left  by  the  Govern- 
ment destitute  of  food,  she,  with  unwearied 
perseverance,  by  some  means  or  other,  ob- 
tained for  us  a  constant  supply. 

"...  When  the  unfeeling  avarice  of 
our  keepers  confined  us  inside,  or  made  our 
feet  fast  in  the  stocks,  she,  like  a  ministering 
angel,  never  ceased  her  applications  to  the 
Government  until  she  was  authorized  to  com- 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14510 

(716)  •72-4503 


^^ 


2/0 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


municate  to  us  the  grateful  news  of  our  en- 
largement, or  of  a  respite  from  our  galling 
oppressions. 

"  Besides  all  this,  it  was  unquestionably 
owing  in  a  chief  degree  to  the  repeated  elo- 
quence and  forcible  appeals  of  Mrs.  Judson, 
that  the  untutored  Burman  was  finally  made 
willing  to  secure  the  welfare  of  his  country 
by  a  sincere  peace." 

The  war  being  over,  Mr.  Judson  determined 
to  remove  into  one  of  the  provinces  ceded  to 
the  British ;  and  the  new  town  of  Amherst 
was  selected  as  their  place  of  residence. 

The  natives  converted  to  Christianity 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  mission- 
aries, had  been  dispersed  during  the  war ; 
and  many  of  them  now  gathered  to  Amherst, 
to  enjoy  again  the  instructions  of  their  be- 
loved teachers.  Their  prospects  now  seemed 
highly  encouraging ;  and  Mr.  Judson  departed 
o  i  a  journey  by  which  he  hoped  to  advance 
the   interests   of  the   mission,  leaving    Mrs. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


271 


Judson  engaged  with  her  characteristic  en- 
ergy in  carrying  forward  arrangements  to 
facilitate  their  work. 

But  never  more  were  that  clear  head, 
ready  hand,  and  sympathetic  heart  to  aid  or 
encourage  him  in  his  labors,  or  succor  him  in 
the  hour  of  calamity.     Her  work  was  done. 

A  fever  seized  her,  and  her  constitution, 
undermined  by  the  exhausting  sufferings, 
mental  and  physical,  through  which  she  had 
passed  during  the  war,  was  not  able  to  with- 
stand the  violence  of  the  disease.  There, 
without  husband  or  kindred  to  receive  her 
frail  infant  from  her  paralyzing  arms,  or 
to  speak  words  of  love  or  comfort  in  her 
dying  ears,  she  battled  with  the  last  enemy, 
and  terminated  her  singularly  eventful  and 
useful  life. 

In  1848,  more  than  twenty  years  after  her 
death,  a  writer  in  the  Calcutta  Review  thus 
speaks  of  her : 

"Of  Mrs.  Judson,  little  is  known   in  the 


272 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


[fill 


< ) 


f.i- 


noisy  world.  Few,  comparatively,  are  ac- 
quainted with  her  name — few  with  her  ac- 
tions ;  but  if  any  woman,  since  the  first 
arrival  of  the  white  strangers  on  the  shores 
of  India,  has,  on  that  great  theater  of  war 
stretching  between  the  mouth  of  the  Irra- 
waddy  and  the  borders  of  Hindoo  Koosh, 
rightly  earned  for  herself  the  title  of  a 
heroine,  Mrs.  Judson  has,  by  her  doing^  and 
sufferings,  fairly  earned  the  distinction — a 
distinc*^ion,  be  it  said,  which  her  true  woman's 
nature  would  have  very  little  appreciated. 
Still,  it  is  right  that  she  should  be  honored 
by  the  world.  Her  sufferings  were  far  more 
unendurable,  her  heroism  far  more  noble, 
than  any  which  in  more  recent  times  have 
been  so  much  pitied  and  so  much  applauded. 
She  was  the  real  heroine.  The 
annals  in  the  East  present  us  with  no 
parallel." 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


273 


SARAH    HALL    BOARDMAN    JUDSON, 


Who  so  worthily  followed  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  first  Mrs.  Judson,  arrived  in  India  with  her 
first  husband,  the  Rev.  George  D.  Boardnian, 
while  Mr.  Judson  and  his  fellow-sufferers  were 
still  prisoners  in  Ava.  They  remained  in  Cal- 
cutta till  the  close  of  the  war,  and  some  time 
after,  preparing  themselves  by  the  study  of 
the  Burmese  language,  etc.,  for  their  subse- 
quent career  of  usefulness  in  Burma. 

After  they  had  joined  the  other  missiona- 
ries at  Amherst,  Maulmain  was  determined 
upon  as  the  scene  of  their  future  labors,  and 
thither  they  repaired.  The  dangers  that  en- 
compassed their  new  residence  were  such  as 
in  the  ^nesence  of  which  even  stout  hearts 
might  have  been  excused  for  quailing.  The 
mission-house  was  a  slight  structure  of  bam- 
boos, constituting  scarcely  any  obstruction  to 
assailants  disposed  to  effect  an  entrance,  and 
in   such   close   proximity   to  the  jungle  that 


274 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


»^ 


the  slumbers  of  the  missionaries  were  fre- 
quently disturbed  by  the  howling  of  the  wild 
beasts,  whose  lairs  had  so  recently  given  place 
to  human  habitations.  Maulmain  was  then  a 
new  city  that  had  suddenly  sprung  into  exist- 
ence within  the  territory  ceded  to  the  British. 

They  had  been  settled  in  their  new  abode 
but  a  few  weeks,  when  it  was  entered  in  the 
night  by  robbers,  who  overhauled  all  their 
effects,  and  carried  away  most  of  their  valu- 
ables while  they  slept. 

Mrs.  Boardman,  speaking  of  the  event,  says : 
"After  the  first  amazement  had  a  little  sub- 
sided, I  raised  my  eyes  to  the  curtains  sur- 
rounding our  bed,  and,  to  my  indescribable 
emotion,  saw  two  large  holes  cut,  the  one  at 
the  head  and  the  other  at  the  foot  of  the 
place  where  my  dear  husband  had  been  sleep- 
ing. From  that  moment  I  quite  forgot  the 
stolen  goods,  and  thought  only  of  the  treasure 
that  was  spared.  In  imagination  I  saw  the 
assassins,  with  their  horrid  weapons,  standing 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


275 


by  our  bedside,  ready  to  do  their  worst  had 
we  been  permitted  to  wake.  O,  how  merciful 
was  that  watchful  Providence  which  prolonged 
those  powerful  slumbers  of  that  night,  not  al- 
lowing even  the  infant  at  my  bosom  to  open 
its  eyes  at  so  critical  a  moment !" 

After  the  robbery,  a  guard  was  sent  from 
the  English  barracks  to  protect  the  mission- 
aries in  case  of  another  visit  from  the  ma- 
rauders. One  of  the  guard  narrowly  escaped 
death  from  a  wild  beast,  which,  rushing  out 
of  the  jungle,  leaped  upon  him  while  he  was 
seated  upon  the  veranda  of  the  mission-house. 
Happily  there  was  help  at  hand,  and  the  ani- 
mal was  frightened  away  before  the  man  had 
sustained  serious  injury. 

Do  we  find  Mrs.  Boardman,  while  thus  con- 
tinually exposed  to  attacks  of  ravenous  beasts 
and  fierce  banditti,  deploring  her  situation,  or 
expressing  a  desire  to  relinqu'sh  their  work 
and  return  to  the  security  and  comfort  of 
civilized  life.^     On  the  contrary,  she  charac- 


'I:\l 


II:';    t 


I'll  : 


->■«■ 


i 


it 


276 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


terizes  the  months  in  which  these  events  were 
transpiring  as  among  the  happiest  of  her  hfe, 
because  she  felt  that  they  were  in  the  path 
of  duty. 

Afterward,  in  order  to  the  further  extension 
of  missionary  operations  in  the  country,  it  was 
judged  advisable  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boardman 
to  leave  the  infant  Church  and  the  schools 
they  had  so  successfully  established  at  Maul- 
main,  to  the  care  of  the  other  missionaries, 
and  to  proceed  themselves  to  Tavoy.  Accord- 
ingly, they  sundered  the  ties  that  bound 
them  to  their  first  Indian  home,  and  to  the 
natives  in  whose  conversion  they  had  been 
instrumental,  and  again  devoted  their  ener- 
gies to  breaking  up  new  ground. 

At  Tavoy,  after  overcoming  various  ob- 
stacles and  discouragements,  they  succeeded 
in  establishing  schools,  and  were  cheered  by 
indications  of  prosperity  and  some  conversions 
among  the  natives. 

The  conversion  of  a  Karen  having  attracted 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


277 


Mr.  Boardman's  attention  to  that  interesting 
tribe,  he,  though  scarcely  recovered  from  a 
dangerous  ilhiess,  made  a  tour  among  them 
with  very  gratifying  results.  It  required  no 
small  amount  of  courage  and  of  exalted  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged 
to  make  Mrs.  Boardman  willing  to  be  left, 
with  her  two  little  ones,  among  the  natives 
in  such  a  place,  and  with  no  better  protection 
from  outside  dangers  than  a  bamboo  hut,  her 
mind,  at  the  same  time,  distressed  by  sad 
forebodings  as  to  the  probable  consequence 
to  her  husband's  feeble  health  of  the  expos- 
ures, toils,  and  dangers  inseparable  from  his 
journey.  But  she  was  equal  to  this  and  to 
sorer  trials  which  yet  awaited  them  at  Tavoy. 
Some  of  these  were  consequences  of  the  re- 
bellion of  the  Tavoyans  against  the  British. 

It  was  fortunate  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Board- 
man  that  they,  at  that  time,  resided  in  a  place 
occupied  by  a  British  force ;  small  though  the 
force  was,  yet  to  its  presence  they  were  prob- 


■- 


i'.'> 


i  >) 


t     4, 


'it\i  «^ 


.  If  J. 


278 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


ably  indebted  for  their  exemption  from  aggra- 
vated sufferings,  if  not  from  death  itself 

From  a  letter  of  Mr.  Boardman's  we  take 
some  extracts.  He  says:  "On  Lord's-day 
morning,  the  9th  instant,  at  four  o'clock,  we 
were  aroused  from  our  quiet  slumbers  by  the 
cry  of  *  Teacher,  master,  Tavoy  rebels!*  and 
ringing  at  all  our  doors  and  windows.  We 
were  soon  awake  to  our  extreme  danger,  as 
we  heard  not  only  a  continual  report  of  mus- 
ketry within  the  town,  but  the  balls  were  fre- 
quently passing  over  our  heads  and  through 
our  house  ;  and,  in  a  few  moments,  a  large 
company  of  Tavoyans  collected  near  our  gate, 
and  gave  us  reason  to  suspect  they  were  con- 
sulting what  to  do  with  us.  We  lifted  our 
hearts  to  God  for  protection,  and  Mrs.  Board- 
man  and  little  George  were  hurried  away 
through  a  back  door  to  a  retired  building  in 
the  rear.  I  lay  down  in  the  house  (to  escape 
the  bullets),  with  a  single  Burman  boy  to 
watch  and  communicate  the  first  intelligence." 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


279 


iggra- 


;  take 
i's-day 
:k,  we 
by  the 
r  and 
;.     We 
yer,  as 
if  m  US- 
ire  fre- 
h  rough 
a  large 
ir  gate, 
re  con- 
ed our 
Board- 
away 
[ding  in 
escape 
boy  to 
gence 


ft 


On  the  kind  invitation  of  Mrs.  Burney,  the 
wife  of  the  English  resident,  who  happened 
to  be  absent,  they  sought  shelter  from  the 
storm  of  bullets  in  the  Government-house. 
Mr.  Boardman  continues:  "We  had  been  at 
the  Government-house  but  a  short  time,  when 
it  was  agreed  to  evacuate  the  town  and  retire 
to  the  warf — a  large  wooden  building  of  six 
rooms.  Our  greatest  danger  at  this  time 
arose  from  having,  in  one  of  the  rooms  where 
many  were  to  sleep,  and  all  of  us  were  con- 
tinually passing,  several  hundred  barrels  of 
gunpowder,  to  which,  if  fire  should  be  com- 
municated accidentally  by  ourselves,  or  mis- 
chievously by  others,  we  should  all  perish  at 
once.  But,  through  the  kind  care  of  our 
Heavenly  Father,  we  were  preserved  alive, 
and  nothing  of  importance  occurred  until  the 
morning  of  Thursday,  a  little  before  daybreak, 
when  a  party  of  five  hundred  advanced  upon 
us   from   the   town,  and   set    fire   to    several 

houses  and  vessels  near  the  warf.     But  God 

19 


F       I 


3 


f !  " 


li  1. 


i,    f  ' 


t 


1.^ 


280 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


interposed  in  our  behalf,  and  sent  a  lieavy 
shower  of  rain,  which  extinguished  the  fire, 
while  the  Sepoys  repelled  the  assailants." 

Mrs.  Board  man's  biographer  says  :  "  What 
could  be  more  appalling  to  the  stoutest  heart 
than  the  situation  of  Mrs.  Boardman  and  her 
helpless  family  ?  Forced  to  flee  from  her  frail 
hut,  by  bullets  actually  whizzing  through  it, 
and  to  pass  through  the  town  amid  the  yells 
of  an  infuriated  rabble,  her  path  sometimes 
impeded  by  the  dead  bodies  of  men  who  had 
fallen  in  the  conflict;  driven  from  the  shelter 
of  the  Government-house,  again  to  fly  through 
the  streets  to  the  warf-house,  and  there,  with 
three  or  four  hundred  fugitives  crowded  to- 
gether, to  await  death,  which  threatened  them 
in  every  form  ;  hearing  over  their  heads  the 
rush  of  cannon  balls,  and  seeing  from  burning 
buildings  showers  of  sparks  falling,  one  of 
which,  if  it  reached  the  magazines  under  their 
roof,  was  sufficient  to  tear  the  building  from 
its  foundations,  and  whelm   them  all  in  one 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


281 


heavy 
B  fire, 


II 


« What 
t  heart 
nd  her 
ler  frail 
lUgh  it, 
le  yells 
netimes 

irho  had 
shelter 
[through 
|re,  with 
ded  to- 
d  them 
:ads  the 
|burning 
one  of 
er  their 
ng  from 
in  one 


common  ruin ;  or,  if  they  escaped  this  danger, 
to  know  that  hundreds  of  merciless  barbarians, 
with  knives  and  cutlasses,  might,  at  any  mo- 
ment, rush  into  the  building  and  destroy 
them, — can  the  female  heart,  we  are  ready  to 
ask,  endure  such  fearful  trial  ?  Yes :  her  mind 
was  stayed  by  a  *  courage  not  her  own  ;*  .  .  . 
its  calmness  was  that  of  a  child  who,  in  its 
utter  helplessness,  clings  to  its  father's  arm." 

Her  distress  was  aggravated  by  the  alarm- 
ing illness  of  her  little  boy,  caused  by  the  foul 
air  of  the  warf-house  and  the  absence  of 
accustomed  comforts;  but,  by  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  her  watchful  care,  it  was  spared 
to  her. 

"With  what  transports  of  joy  did  that  suf- 
fering company  hail  the  sight  of  the  thin  blue 
smoke  that  heralded  the  arrival  of  a  steamer 
from  Maulmain !  Amid  what  distracting  fears 
for  her  husband,  left  in  the  revolted  city,  her 
infant  and  herself,  did  Mrs.  Boardman  decide 
to  go  on  board  the  steamer  returning  to  Maul- 


282 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


rli 


main !  And  with  what  gratitude  and  joy  did 
she,  after '  several  days  of  painful  suspense, 
welcome  to  the  same  city  her  husband,  and 
hear  the  tidings  of  the  triumph  of  British 
power  and  the  restoration  of  tranquillity !" 

The  rebellion  being  suppressed,  Mr.  Board- 
man  set  about  repairing  the  mischief  it  had 
wrought.  Their  house  had  been  cut  to  pieces, 
and  their  books,  clothing,  furniture,  etc.,  car- 
ried off,  mutilated,  or  destroyed.  He  gathered 
up  such  fragments  as  remained,  and  made  the 
best  arrangements  in  his  power  for  future  com- 
fort and  usefulness.  Illness  and  other  causes 
detained  Mrs.  Boardman  for  some  time  at 
Maulmain ;  but,  before  Winter,  she  had  re- 
turned, and  they  were  again  engaged  in  their 
"loved  employ,"  and  were  greatly  strength- 
ened and  encouraged  by  seeing  the  good  seed 
they  had  so  faithfully  sown  amid  opposition 
and  discouragement,  bringing  forth  fruit  in  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen.  But,  even  while 
rejoicing  in  these  triumphs  of  the  truth,  Mrs. 


c     i*' 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


283 


Boardman  could  not  conceal  from  herseL  the 
conviction  that  a  greater  sorrow  than  any  she 
had  yet  known  was  coming  upon  her.  She 
had  already  twice  experienced  the  agony  that 
wrings  the  hearts  of  bereaved  parents.  Of 
their  three  children,  two  h^d  been  taken  from 
them  by  death, — their  first-born,  a  lovely  and 
promising  little  girl  of  two  years  and  eight 
months;  and,  afterward,  their  second  son, 
a  beautiful  babe  of  eight  months.  But  all 
the  suffering  and  sorrow  that  she  had  yet 
endured  seemed  as  nothing  in  comparison 
with  that  which  now  threatened  to  overwhelm 
her.  Her  beloved  husband,  who  had  been  her 
comfort  and  solace  under  orevious  bereave- 
ments, was  now  himself  too  evidently  passing 
away. 

Ardently  affectionate  in  her  nature,  she  suf- 
fered intense  anguish  of  spirit ;  but  instead  of 
giving  way  to  rebellious  repinings,  the  poor 
bruised  heart  carried  its  sorrows  to  the  Great 
Healer,  and  in  his  strength  she  girded   her- 


m^ 


y.i 


W 


i    f 


^ 


l^    iS 


II 


284 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL 


self  with  fresh  courage  to  do  all  that  might 
yet  be  done. 

When  her  dying  husband  could  not  be  dis- 
suaded from  employing  the  last  remnant  of 
his  ebbing  life  in  another  visit  to  his  beloved 
Karens,  we  find  her  taking  her  place  beside 
his  portable  couch,  that  his  sufferings  might 
receive  every  possible  alleviation;  that  he 
might  lack  no  tender  attention  that  the  most 
devoted  love  could  give. 

They  arrived  at  their  destination  on  the 
third  day,  and  found  awaiting  them  nearly  a 
hundred  natives,  more  than  half  of  whom  were 
applicants  for  baptism.  The  place  prepared 
for  the  accommodation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Board- 
man  and  their  little  boy,  was  a  room  five  feet 
wide  and  ten  feet  long,  so  low  that  Mrs. 
Boardman  could  not  stand  upright  in  it,  and 
so  insufficiently  inclosed  as  not  to  shelter  the 
sufferer  from  the  cold  and  damp  of  the  night 
air,  or  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  by  day. 
Those  who  have   known  what  it  is  to  watch 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


285 


might 

•e  dis- 
int  of 
iloved 
beside 
might 
at  he 
i  most 

m  the 
:arly  a 
1  were 
spared 

oard- 

e  feet 
Mrs. 

t,  and 
er  the 

night 
day. 

watch 


beside  dying  loved  ones,  witnessing  suffering 
that  they  were  powerless  to  relieve,  can  im- 
agine the  anguish  that  Mrs.  Boardman  endured 
in  seeing  her  husband  so  near  his  end  in  that 
miserable  place,  destitute  of  the  little  comforts 
so  needful  in  sickness.  But  with  heroic  de- 
termination she  repressed  her  own  sorrow, 
lest  it  might  incapacitate  her  for  assisting  him 
while  rallying  his  expiring  energies  for  one 
more  effort  in  his  Master's  cause.  The  poor 
worn  body,  though,  was  found  unequal  to  the 
task  assigned  it  by  the  zealous  spirit,  and  he 
was  forced  to  admit  that  his  work  was  done. 
Mrs.  Boardman,  speaking  of  their  return 
journey,  in  which  they  were  accompanied  by 
large  numbers  of  the  sorrowing  native  con- 
verts, says :  "  But  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, we  were  overtaken  by  a  violent  shower 
of  rain,  accompanied  by  lightning  and  thunder. 
There  was  no  house  in  sight,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  remain  in  the  open  air,  exposed  to 
the  merciless  storm.     We  covered   him  with 


286 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


'     i 


E'    1 


I    , 


1/ 


mats  and  blankets,  and  held  our  umbrellas 
over  him,  all  to  no  purpose.  I  was  obliged  to 
stand  and  see  the  storm  beating  upon  him 
till  his  mattress  and  pillows  were  drenched 
with  rain.  We  hastened  on,  and  soon  came 
to  a  Tavoy  house.  The  inhabitants  at  first 
refused  us  admittance.  .  .  .  After  some 
persuasion,  they  admitted  us  into  the  house, 
or  rather  veranda ;  for  they  would  not  allow 
us  to  sleep  inside,  though  I  begged  the  privi- 
lege for  my  sick  husband  with  tears.  .  .  . 
The  rain  still  continued,  and  his  cot  was  wet, 
so  that  he  was  obliged  to  lie  on  the  bamboo 
floor.  Having  found  a  place  where  our  little 
boy  could  sleep  without  danger  of  falling 
through  openings  in  the  floor,  I  threw  myself 
down,  without  undressing,  beside  my  beloved 
husband." 

Thus  they  passed  the  last  night  of  his  life ; 
and,  before  another  night,  it  was  but  a  lifeless 
corpse  that  the  attendants  were  bearing  back 
to  her  now  desolate  home. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


287 


•ellas 
ed  to 

him 
iched 
came 

first 
some 
louse, 
allow 
privi- 
•  • 
s  wet, 
imboo 

little 


fallin 


or 


lyself 
iloved 


i  life  ; 

ifeless 

back 


In  her  grief  and  loneliness,  her  heart  doubt- 
less yearned  for  the  soothing  sympathy  of  her 
kindred  and  friends  in  her  native  land.     Who 
would  have  censured  her,  if  in  view  of  what 
had  been  achieved  among  the  natives   since 
their  coming  to  Tavoy,  and   of  all  the  trials 
and  toils  and  dangers  of  her  Indian    life,  it 
had   seemed    to   her   that   her  work  was  ac- 
complished ;   and    that    it   would   then  be  no 
desertion    of  duty   for    her,    with    her    little 
boy  to  educate,   to   return    to   America .?      If, 
during  the  first  sad  days  of  her  bereavement, 
such  thoughts  flitted  through  her  mind,  they 
did  not  long  find  lodgment  there.     Soon  the 
native  converts  began  to  come  to  her,  as  of 
old,   with    their   difficulties    and    perplexities, 
and   inquiries   for  instruction.      The   duty  of 
responding  to  these  appeals  forbade  the  indul- 
gence of  engrossing  sorrow,  and   caused  her 
to  realize  that,  when  work  for  the  Master  was 
pressing  on  every  hand,  and  one  of  the  labor- 
ers had  fallen  in  the  field,  his  fellow-laborers. 


i 

i 
-1 

l\ 

wfn? 

V  ■■' 

^^-' 

!-1 

M 

m 

t  \ 

tK 

J  ■< 

4    -; 

In 

H| 

f-' 

i: 

In 

''■■| 

w) 

r 

1 

f 

w 


288 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


instead  of  relaxing  their  eflforts,  should  feel  it 
imperative  on  them,  if  possible,  to  redouble 
their  diligence. 

Thenceforward  her  labors  became  more 
onerous  than  they  had  been  during  Mr. 
Boardman's  life ;  and  they  continued  so,  even 
after  the  arrival  of  the  new  missionaries,  Mr. 
Mason  and  his  wife,  who  of  necessity  were 
chiefly  occupied  with  the  study  of  the  lan- 
guage. In  one  of  her  letters  of  this  period 
she  says : 

"  Every  moment  of  my  time  is  occupied, 
frqm  sunrise  till  ten  in  the  evening.  It  is 
late  bed-time,  and  I  am  surrounded  by  five 
Karen  women.  .  .  .  The  Karens  are  be- 
ginning to  come  to  us  in  companies ;  and  with 
them,  and  our  scholars  in  the  town,  and  the 
care  of  my  darling  boy,  you  will  scarce  think 
I  have  much  leisure  for  letter-writing." 

Later,  she  writes :  "  The  superintendence 
of  the  food  and  clothing  of  both  the  boarding- 
schoOiS,  together  with  the  care  of  five  day- 


— 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


289 


schools  under  native  teachers,  devolves  wholly 
on  me." 

She  also  made  difficult  journeys  through 
the  wild  jungles  to  the  Karen  villages,  to 
strengthen,  encourage,  and  instruv;:  the  poor 
natives  ;  thus  performing  efficiently,  though 
informally,  the  work  of  an  evangelist. 

After  her  marriage  with  Dr.  Judson,  and 
her  consequent  return  to  Maulmain,  she  was 
still  busily  engaged  in  conducting  schools, 
Bible-class,  etc.,  besides  attending  to  her 
family.  She  also  learned  the  Peguan  lan- 
guage, into  which  she  translated  the  New 
Testament,  a  Life  of  Christ,  and  several  tracts. 
In  Burmese  she  had  previously  become  pro- 
ficient, and  she  translated  "Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress"  into  that  language.  A  number  of 
the  hymns  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  mission 
were  also  from  her  pen. 

At  Maulmain  she  was  exposed  to  fewer 
vicissitudes  and  dangers  than  at  Tavoy,  so 
that    the    intrepid    aspect    of    her   character 


t 


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f  PI 

ill 


290 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


became  less  conspicuous ;  but  her  life  was  filled 
up  with  increased  maternal  responsibilities 
and  domestic  cares,  added  to  other  arduous 
labors  of  the  same  class  with  those  which 
she  had  previously  discharged  with  so  much 
sound  jugment,  and  in  which  she  exhibited  so 
happily  the  ability  to  influence  and  govern 
those  under  her  control,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  win  their  love  and  reverence  for  herself. 
One  of  her  biographers  says  of  her : 

"Sweetness  aid  strength,  gentleness  and 
firmness,  were  in  her  character  most  happily 
blended.  Her  mind  was  both  poetical  and 
practical.  She  had  a  refined  taste,  and  a  love 
for  the  beautiful  as  well  as  the  excellent." 

In  early  life  she  wooed  the  Muses  with 
respectable  success ;  and  though  the  stern 
labors  of  mature  years  left  her  little  leisure 
for  the  indulgence  of  poetic  fancies,  yet  the 
last  expression  of  her  love  committed  to  writ- 
ing flowed  from  her  pen  in  numbers  of  touch- 
ing grace  and  tenderness. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


291 


Her  constitution  having  been  broken  down 
by  her  incessant  toils,  a  voyage  to  America 
was  recommended  in  order  to  recuperate  it. 
On  the  voyage  thither,  ^hcii  between  the  Isle 
of  France  and  St.  Helena,  she  died,  and  was 
buried  on  the  latter  island. 

We  have  selected  these  two  gifted  Christian 
women  as  representative  missionary  women, 
who,  though  brilliant  examples,  did  not  excel 
many  others  in  the  host  of  devoted  women 
who  have  gone  out  from  Great  Britain  and 
America  into  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  on 
the  same  godlike  errand. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  honored 
names  of  several  philanthropic  ladies,  whose 
works  praise  them  throughout  Europe  and 
America.  The  list  might  be  extended  indef- 
initely, but  we  have  space  for  but  a  few. 


THE  MISSES  CHANDLER. 

The    National    Hospital    erected    for    the 
Paralyzed   and   Epileptic   (England)  owes  its 


■  <  ,1.    • 


'*' 


I  i 

lift 


292 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAU 


origin  to  the  humane  efforts  of  two  sisters, 
Joanna  and  Louisa  Chandler.  These  ladies, 
finding  that  among  all  the  charitable  institu- 
tions existing  in- London  there  was  not  one 
into  which  a  poor  paralyzed  man  would  be 
admitted,  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing 
a  hospital  for  that  particular  class  of  sufferers. 
Though  only  in  moderate  circumstances,  they 
devoted  two  hundred  pounds  of  their  own 
means  to  the  object.  For  five  years,  they 
received  no  assistance ;  but  their  continued 
appeals  at  length  attracted  public  attention. 
Various  philanthropic  gentlemen  and  ladies 
became  interested  in  the  enterprise.  Tbe 
necessary  funds  were  collected  mainly  by  the 
exertions  of  Miss  J.  Chandler  and  the  ladies 
who  had  associated  themselves  with  her,  and 
the  hospital  became  an  accomplished  fact. 

The  same  persevering  energy,  directed  by 
sound  judgment  and  practical  business  talent, 
was  conspicuously  displayed  by  Miss  Adaline 
Cooper,  in  her  efforts  for  the  improvement  of 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMKS. 


293 


the  condition  and  morals  of  the  costermongers 
of  Tothill  Fields,  Westminster.  Among  the 
degraded,  they  as  a  class  were  regarded  as 
the  most  degraded.  But,  strong  in  her  faith 
in  the  power  of  kindness,  she  went  in  among 
them,  and  commenced  day  and  night  schools, 
a  Sunday-school,  a  mothers'  meeting,  and  a 
temperance  society.  Through  these  appli- 
ances she  influenced  the  women  and  children, 
but  the  men  stood  aloof.  The  more  desperate 
even  threatened  to  drive  her  and  her  assist- 
ants away ;  but  she  was  not  to  be  intimidated. 
She  erected  a  handsome  building  for  a  Cos- 
termongers' Club ;  and  constructed  a  dwell- 
ing-house large  enough  to  accommodate  fifty 
or  sixty  families.  The  entire  expenditure 
for  these  purposes  amounted  to  nearly  nine 
thousand  pounds. 

Soon  after  the  Club  was  formed,  a  large 
number  of  the  members,  perceiving  the  ben- 
efit of  abstinence,  signed  the  pledge.  She 
formed  a  Bible-class  for  their  improvement, 


I;f 


%  v  i 

liii 


294 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL 


and   established  a  penny-bank  for  the  Band 
of  Hope. 

In  reward  of  her  labors,  she  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  a  marked  reformation  in 
both  their  morals  and  circumstances.  Very 
many  of  these  poor  people,  the  very  name  of 
whose  calling  'had  been  a  synonym  for  dis- 
honesty and  kindred  vices,  became  sober,  in- 
dustrious, and  honest  men  and  women. 

Sketches  innumerable  of  other  women  of 
very  great  merit,  particularly  of  those  who 
have  enriched  our  literature  during  the  pres- 
ent century,  might  be  added,  did  the  limits 
of  so  small  a  volume  permit ;  which  it  does 
not.  It  must  suffice,  therefore,  to  mention 
the  names  of  a  few  of  these,  while  the  names 
of  many  others  equally  meritorious  must 
necessarily  be  omitted. 

First,  we  write  Mrs.  Browning,  a  name  sur- 
rounded by  a  halo  of  glory  from  the  scintilla- 
tions of  her  own  genius. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES. 


295 


Charlotte  Bronte,  Miss  Mulock,  Mrs.  Wood, 
and  Mrs.  Oliphant  form  a  brilliant  galaxy, 
but  scarcely  outshine  others  in  the  same 
department. 

Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  has  made  her 
mark  upon  her  age,  and  is  not  likely  to  be 
forgotten  while  the  War  of  Secession  is 
remembered. 

The  sweet  strains  of  the  sisters  Gary  will 
linger  long  in  the  ears  and  hearts  of  the  lovers 
of  song. 

The  name  of  the  gentle  Swede,  Fredrika 
Bremer,  will  live  as  long  as  the  language  in 
which  she  writes  shall  be  spoken  or  read  ; 
while  Mary  Howitt,  her  translator,  is,  through 
these  beautiful  translations,  and  her  own  in- 
imitably chaste  and  home-like  stories,  en- 
deared to  both  English  and  American  hearts. 

Mrs.  Willard  will  bear  a  favorable  compar- 
ison with  any  other  American  historian,  let 
him  be  ever  so  famous. 

Mrs.  Moodie  and  her  gifted  sisters,  Mrs. 

20 


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^^  If. 


296 


WOMAN  MAN'S  EQUAL. 


Trail  and  Miss  Strickland,  have  acquired  a 
world-wide  reputation  by  their  pens. 

Which  of  our  living  authors  possesses 
a  more  terse  or  vigorous  style  than  Gail 
Hamilton  >  And  where  are  more  self-sacri- 
ficing spirits  to  be  found  than  in  those  bands 
of  lady  missionaries,  worthy  successors  of 
Harriet  Newell  and  Ann  Hasseltine  Judson, 
who  every  year  leave  our  coasts  to  carry  the 
Gospel  to  heathen  lands  ? 

Large  numbers  of  clever  women  are  at- 
tracting the  attention  of  the  thinking  people 
of  both  England  and  America,  not  only  as 
public  speakers  and  leaders  of  much-needed 
reforms,  but  for  the  honorable  position  to 
which  they  have  attained  in  literary  and  sci- 
entific circles  and  in  the  arts.  The  scenes, 
however,  in  which  they  are  the  active  par- 
ticipants are  still  transpiring ;  and  therefore 
these  women,  some  of  them  both  honorable 
and  great,  in  the  best  and  highest  acceptation 
of  the  terms,  can  not  just  at  the  present  be 


L  jj 


mji 


1 


I. 


WOMEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES.  297 

classed  among  the  women  of  history.  But 
though  they  are  not  far  enough  back  in  the 
past  to  be  placed  in  this  category,  they  are 
furnishing  the  materials  for  both  an  instructive 
and  an  interesting  one  in  the  future ;  and  that 
future,  too,  not  very  far  distant.  All  honor  to 
the  brave,  the  good,  and  true  among  them. 


